Trust Falls
by ArwenLalaith
Summary: After the BAU screws up royally, what does Strauss have in mind for punishment? It seems a little wilderness excursion is in order... Co-written with Confetti Leaves.
1. Crime and Punishment

_When a gifted team dedicates itself to unselfish trust and combines instinct with boldness and effort, it is ready to climb._

_- Patanjali_

*****

"Three deaths that could have been prevented! Three deaths on your hands! _Three deaths _because you couldn't get your act together!"

No one dared look Strauss in the eye, almost as if afraid of being turned to stone by her glare. She was the maddest they had ever seen her, her face a shade off of burgundy.

"Not only did you make yourselves look bad with your immaturity, you've also tarnished the reputation of the BAU and the FBI as a whole! Grown men and women acting like children, too busy arguing to see what should have been obvious!"

To say that she was angry would have been a devastating understatement. Livid, infuriated, incensed, enraged would have been closer to the mark... Combining them would have been somewhere close to just how mad she was.

"Reduced to bickering over the profile that _you _created! You let a suspect, _which you had already identified_, walk armed into a classroom full of students who had bullied him... Something you should have seen coming!"

She paced back and forth agitatedly before them, prosecutor, judge, and jury. They sat like six guilty children, heads hanging, waiting out the storm.

"Worst of all, rather than hear it straight from the horse's mouth, I had to hear about it from the chief of Nashville police! He certainly wasn't impressed! Wasn't it you Agent Jareau, who told _me _we have to work with these people? Nobody will want our help after hearing about this blatant unprofessionalism!"

For the last hour she had been berating them for the fiasco that had ended their last case. Nationwide, news broadcasts were proclaiming the story of the Tennessee boy who had gone on a rampage of terror, seeking out anyone who had ever bullied him and exacting revenge with a double-barrelled twelve-gauge shotgun, ending in a standoff with police at the local high school. In hindsight, it had been glaringly obvious who was responsible and what was going to happen, but at the time it had been a point of contention to say the least. After coming up with a profile they had disagreed about how and when the unsub would make his last stand... Another understatement; disagree was putting it mildly, clash was more suitably violent a word for their argument. And by the time the final battle actually had come about, they were too busy locking horns to connect Garcia's information about the boy's hospitalization resulting from a severe beating to bullying... It was easy to see why Strauss was furious.

"Being part of a _team _I would think that _teamwork _would come naturally... But apparently _NOT_!"

They were afraid of what was coming... Multiple reassignments seemed to be imminent...

"Which is why I'm ordering you all to attend the Challenge Discovery Team Building Camp. You'll spend two weeks in the wilderness being lead through exercises to emphasize trust, teamwork, leadership, and communication. Hopefully this way you'll actually be able to work together without tearing apart your reputation..."

_That_, they had not been expecting... For several moments they just stared at her, dumbfounded. For such a vicious rant it seemed an awfully tame punishment. Considering that they spent days on end in each others' company, this should be no problem...


	2. Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere

Two weeks in the wilderness and tons of team building activities... At first it seemed like a rather light punishment for their major mistake, but as Emily prepared for the camp it seemed to get worse by the minute. There was a very real possibility that there would be no hot shower or worse, no proper toilets. While digging in her closet for her hiking boots, she was hit by a sudden burst of genius... Why worry when all the information that had ever existed about this place was just a phone call away? Emily quickly dialled Garcia's number.

"Hello happy camper! Ready to bring out your inner tree-hugger?" Garcia's cheerful voice filtered through the speaker.

"Garcia, I need you to help me."

"You want me to do a little research on the camp site you're being shipped off to," Garcia supplied, almost like she had read Emily's mind. "Magic word..."

"Please and thank you," Emily said with a smile.

There was silence for several moments, other than the rapid tapping of keys. She began speaking again, reading disconnected snippets from her screen, "Ground breaking in team-building exercises... One of the first in the country, spawning a chain of others throughout North America..." Emily groaned, maybe no shower at all. "Rustic, yet modern... all the cabins are air conditioned, featuring indoor plumbing."

"Thank God!" Emily let out a sigh of relief. "I love you Garcia."

She smirked, "Why wouldn't you?"

_*****_

Reid studied the plethora of items he had assembled to bring to camp and then sized up his suitcase, unsure how he would fit the former into the latter, wondering if perhaps he was a little over-prepared. Though going to camp was their punishment, he couldn't help but feel excited. Never having been to camp as a child, this was a novel and slightly overwhelming experience.

Doing his best to stuff the items he had amassed into the slightly too small duffle-bag, he abruptly sat on the suitcase, attempting to force out the excess air to make more room. Bouncing up and down giddily once or twice, he smiled, wondering what might happen on their camping adventure. Visions of Hotch and Rossi in helmets, attempting to balance on the high ropes came to mind. His enthusiasm again bubbled up at the thought of the high ropes. Hopping up, he attempted to force more clothing into the suitcase before the air could rush back in. Grinning from ear to ear, he thought, _"I can't wait for tomorrow to get here!"_

******

"Where's Morgan?" Hotch said, annoyed. It was now 7:15 and he still wasn't there. What part of _7:00 prompt_ had been unclear?

As if on cue, Morgan pulled up in front of the FBI building where they had gathered. "You're late," Hotch scolded. The look on his face could have curdled milk.

"There was a traffic jam." Morgan explained with a characteristic nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, "I'm sorry." This is definitely not a good morning... He had woken up late, got caught in traffic, and pissed off an already annoyed Hotch. Frankly, the last thing he wanted to do was to piss off Hotch... Which was normally true, but today especially. Anyone could see that the unit chief was _beyond_ not happy about going camping... To be fair, no one was exactly pleased with the turn of events, other than Reid who seemed to be ecstatic over the whole thing.

"Put your luggage in my car," Hotch ordered.

The camp site had only allowed a limited number of parking spaces, probably to encourage preemptive bonding... And since Hotch and Rossi already had all the luggage crammed into the backseat, Morgan was stuck in the car with Reid, JJ, and Emily. Which he didn't mind, but he wasn't sure how much more of Reid's rambling he could take... Especially since he had yet to consume any caffeine. _"This is going to be a long camp," _he thought.

*****

Strained silence filled the air between the senior profiler and unit chief as they headed out onto the highway. Hotch was supposed to have spent the weekend with Jack, but instead he was being shipped off to this camp. Then again, it takes two hands to clap... if they hadn't been so short-sighted and childish, none of this would have happened in the first place. "Do you think this camp is actually going to help us?" Hotch finally spoke.

After a thoughtful pause, Rossi replied, "I think so." Another pause. "At the very least, it's a vacation... Call me naïve, but maybe what the team really needs is some time away from the cases and the carnage. I think perhaps the reason why we fought was because we were all too afraid to watch another victim die... That's why we were all so eager to get it right..."

Hotch nodded, considering, "I think you're right." He relaxed visibly and after several more moments of silence he said, "Thanks."

"No problem, Chief." Rossi smiled and for the first time that morning Hotch allowed his miffed attitude to give way to one of slightly less anger, breaking into a smile.

******

When the SUV pulled up in front of the main cabin, tires crunching over loose gravel, JJ stepped out of the stuffy vehicle and took a deep breath. The fresh cool air was welcome after the gruelling drive; not to mention she was at the end of her rope after listening to Reid's somehow unending facts about camping and hiking. She definitely didn't need to hear that for each person killed by a black bear, 13 are killed by snakes, 17 by spiders, 45 by dogs, 120 by bees, 150 by tornadoes, 374 by lightning, and 60 000 by people... By the end of the drive, that number was getting dangerously close to 60 001...

She shook her head, as if in an attempt to rid her head of those thoughts, and gazed out at the expanse of trees before her. It had been a long time since she had been camping and it was nice to get away from her crazy life, if only for a little while... _"Maybe it's a blessing in disguise,"_ she thought. As much as she hated to be away from Henry for two whole weeks, she certainly welcomed a distraction to take her mind off of Will for a while. They had broken up a few weeks ago and she was still struggling to move on. She really had loved him, but deep down she knew he was never _the one_.

She forcibly shut those thoughts from her mind and, turning back to face the vehicle, watched as Reid stumbled out the door, almost landing face first in the brush. She couldn't help but laugh as he jumped back with an alarmed shriek and a cry of, "I think that was poison ivy!"

He hurriedly examined himself for any sign of a rash until she reminded him, "Leaves of _three_... And not to mention that a rash would take about 24 hours to develop."

*****

Entering the quaint log building, the team was greeted with an overly bright and cheerful "Good Morning!" that would have made even Garcia cringe. The voice belonging to a petite blonde receptionist with a giant smile plastered on her face. "My name is Amy; you must be the BAU team," she continued cheerfully.

"Yes," Hotch replied simply, trying not to let her overly animated attitude grate at his nerves.

Sorting through a series of papers, she said, "I've got all your information right here..." Handing over a sheaf of paper, she added, "This is everything you'll need to know about the camp, maps, schedules, etcetera. We've got you and your team bunking in cabin three, Joshua will guide you there and he can explain the camp layout. You have an hour and a half to settle in and unpack and if you could be back here to start at 11:30, that would be great!" With that, she called over her shoulder and a young man appeared, introducing himself as Joshua; before the team had time to gather their wits, they were ushered out of the building.

"How about a little camp song for the trip?" Joshua asked. The looks passing between the team members made it clear that that was the last thing they wanted at this early hour, but his back being turned, he didn't notice. "Repeat after me," he called over his shoulder and they cringed as he broke into song, _"The Princess Pat -"_

In a half-hearted drone, miles away from being actual singing, they echoed, "The Princess Pat -"


	3. Magic Carpet Ride

There was silence in the cabin except for Reid singing under his breath, humming in the echo, _"The Princess Pat... Lived in a tree... She sailed across..."_

Glowering at him, Morgan said, "Reid, I swear to God... Don't make me hurt you!"

"What?" Reid exclaimed indignantly, "It's stuck in my head... And I was just trying to get into the camp spirit... I don't think you would find it nearly so irritating if you did the same."

This earned him several scoffs in response and rolling his eyes, Morgan said, "I'm going for a walk, try and find my way to the outhouse..."

Turning to him with wide panicked eyes, Emily said, "But I thought Garcia said they had indoor plumbing..."

Laughing, Morgan replied, "They do... I was just _getting into the camp spirit_..."

"I'll go with you," JJ quickly volunteered, "I definitely don't want to be trekking through the woods in the middle of the night trying to find the bathroom."

******

Returning from their unexpectedly long walk (they had gotten lost despite the aid of the map), Morgan found all of his luggage had been moved to a different bed than the one he had left it on. Narrowing his eyes dangerously, he looked up to where his bags had been and instead found Emily's. "Hey! I called top bunk!"

Leaning down over the rail at the side of the bed, she retorted, "You left, your bed-roll wasn't unpacked, doesn't count..."

"What do you mean _doesn't count_? Standard 'shot-gun' rules apply, I was in sight of the bed when I called it... Therefore, get down from my bunk!"

Smiling devilishly, she stuck out her tongue and tossed her head back with laughter. "Make me," she challenged.

Not one to back down from a challenge, Morgan snapped back, "I don't make trash, I bury it..." He then broke into laughter at her expression of indignation.

"Oh, you are _so _dead..." she said, her jaw set in a hard line, "But I'm still not giving your bunk back."

"Before this gets ugly..." Rossi interrupted, "I believe we have a team-building session to get to." As the team filed out of the cabin, he continued under his breath, "Apparently, we're gonna need it..."

As they began the trek back to the main cabin, Reid said brightly, "Hey guys, what if we sang..."

He was quickly interrupted with several sharp cries, "NO!"

******

They just barely made it back to the main cabin on time, having mistakenly chosen the _really _long way to get there. When they finally did arrive, two perky camp counsellors were waiting for them. "I'm Ally," the young red-head introduced herself, "And this is Neil," she gestured to the exceedingly tall blonde boy with her.

"We're going to accompany you on your journey of self-discovery and teamwork," Neil said brightly. The team groaned inwardly at the already excruciating use of cliche. "If you would follow us, we'll lead you to the first exercise we'll be doing."

As they followed along the wooded path, they began to wonder just what was in store for them. When the trees on either side opened into a clearing empty other than a bright blue tarp anchored down by several rocks, they became more curious what they could possibly be learning.

"Before we begin, let's have a little chat," Ally said and instructed them to sit in a circle. "So, why are you here?" Sighing, they recounted the 'incident' that had lead to their exile to this camp.

Managing to keep a relatively straight face, at the end of their story, Neil said, "Alrighty, looks like we've got our work cut out for us! Why don't we start with a little ice-breaking game." He held out a ball of colorful string and said, "We're going to create a web of trust. When you get the ball of sting, grab hold of the string and say your name and something about yourself and then pass it to someone and say something nice about them." Tossing the ball up in the air and catching it again, he said, "For instance, I'm Neil and I cheer for the Detroit Red Wings." He then tossed the string to Reid and said, "Your sunglasses are really rad."

Narrowly missing dropping the pass, Reid smiled and said, "I'm Spencer and this the first time I've ever been camping... And now that I'm here, I'm not sure if I'm really excited or really anxious..." The team laughed.

******

The game continued until everyone had received the string, forming a web between them. "Alright," Ally said, "Now, on the count of three, we're all going to hold tight to the string and lean back. We're going to trust that our connections to the rest of the team will keep us from falling. Ready? One, two, three..."

Everyone leaned back slightly warily, but the web held and no one fell to the ground. After a moment of revelling in their success, Neil instructed, "Okay, now we're going to demonstrate what happens if even one person breaks the web of trust... I'm going to let go and we'll see what happens..."

As he stepped back and relinquished his grip, they all felt the string slacken and everyone went tumbling to the grass below. As they picked themselves up, rubbing fresh bruises, Neil elaborated, "That's why it's important to build trust and never break it. Because, you never know exactly what will happen, but it will be bad. Everyone depends on everyone else for a team to function properly."

"Now that we're better acquainted," Ally said, "Let's start our first exercise. Everyone needs to stand on this tarp over here." They all followed instructions, kicking away the anchoring rocks as they stepping onto the blue plastic sheet. "This game is called _Magic Carpet_."

"You're all on a on a magic carpet ride, a hundred feet in the air," Neil narrated. "But, oh no! The instructions for steering and landing the carpet are on the other side!" They all groaned at this over-the-top theatrics. "So, you must communicate and work as a team to flip it over while standing on it..."

There was silence for a moment as they all attempted to work out what the trick to this was. Thinking aloud, Morgan said, "What if we..." but broke off, "No, that won't work..."

"Let's just twist it and step over," Rossi suggested. He and Hotch went to the corners and flipped the edges, but they soon found that the tarp was too small and inflexible for this plan to work. Similarly, several other ideas were discarded after finding them to be infeasible.

"Obviously, we need to fold it in half somehow," Reid said eventually.

Suddenly, a look of understanding crossed Emily's face. "I know! Everyone come stand as close to the edge as possible." Everyone followed her instructions, joining her at the side. "Someone grab the other corner," she ordered as she pulled one of the opposite corners towards herself, exposing the grassy underside of the tarp. Morgan assisted her in folding the tarp in half. "Okay, now everyone step onto the other side."

They tried to figure out where Emily was going from there, because they had already gotten this far, but then abandoned the attempt. "On the count of three, everyone needs to jump up. Morgan and I will then pull at the fold to wrench it out while our feet are in the air. It might take a few tries... One, two, three..." After several bouts of jumping and pulling, they finally managed to fully expose the bottom of the 'magic carpet'.

Ally and Neil congratulated them on their success, "Alright, good job guys. We'll take a break before debriefing on what we've learned from this. You guys want anything? Water?"

"Coffee," they unanimously declared. The two counsellors smiled and shook their heads, even out here in the wilderness, nothing separated the agents from their coffee.


	4. Traffic Jam

The team sat outside their cabin, around the small fire they had built. After hours of team building exercises and camp songs, the team's first day at camp had finally ended. As much as they wanted stay annoyed about being sent here, they had to admit that they did enjoy themselves... it had been a long time since they had been in the woods for reasons other than chasing down an unsub or searching for a body. Like a broken record Reid continued humming despite a mouthful of food, _"The moose's name was Fred... He liked to drink his juice in bed..."_

"Spence, don't make me wish you would choke," JJ glared at him.

"Yeah kid... please, for the love of God, stop," Morgan echoed.

"Sorry."

As if on cue, Morgan's cell phone rang. "How's my little Scout troop?" Garcia's cheery voice put a smile on all their faces.

"Hey Garcia! Everything is fine... Or at least it would be if we had some duct tape to stop Reid from singing camp songs," Emily replied.

Garcia gave a squeal that could have been laughter. "You're singing camp songs without me?" she asked, mock hurt in her voice. "I wanna hear!"

"Baby girl, not you too!"

"Come on, just let me hear one. Please?" she pleaded.

They looked at each other and sighed, "Fine," Hotch relented, "But just _one_. Reid, take the lead."

Reid smiled proudly, glad to finally have the chance to lead them in a camp song; if nothing else, at least he would remember every song and torture everyone with them. He cleared his throat and started, _"There was a great big moose..."_

******

"I miss my hot tub," Emily groaned as she climbed the ladder up to her bed after a shower.

"I can imagine you in a hot tub..." Morgan who was laying on the lower bunk, grinned. She rolled her eyes and, leaning down over the rail at the side of the bed, she threw her pillow and hit him in the head.

"Oh, you're so going to regret that..." He moved to get a better aim to throw the pillow at her, but quickly thought better of it. Smirking, he held her pillow close to his chest, "More pillows for me tonight."

Emily certainly had not expected that; no pillow meant a very sore neck and a miserable next morning. "Morgan! Give it back to me!"

"No!"

"Give it!"

"Kids, keep it down," Rossi sighed, pulling his pillow over his head and using it to block out the noise. He had been hoping he would be able to go to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillows, but clearly that had been a pipe dream.

"She started it!" Morgan shot back indignantly.

"I don't care who started it, just give Prentiss her pillow," Hotch instructed, not opening his eyes.

Morgan passed Emily her pillow reluctantly, "Yes, Mom!" he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that Morgan," Emily grinned.

"Don't tell Hotch," Morgan whispered.

JJ smiled at her two friends' antics, there was definitely something going on between them and they obviously didn't see it. "Guys, let's just sleep okay? You're the one's who'll be sorry if you're exhausted tomorrow."

******

After breakfast, Neil and Ally lead them to the same clearing used for yesterday's activity. "We're gonna play a little game called _Traffic Jam_," Neil said brightly. "See those seven stepping stones? You stand facing each other, three on the left, three on the right, leaving the centre stone empty."

As they took their positions Ally explained, "The goal of this game is to switch positions, to reach the other end in the same order. Only one person can move at a time, you can't pass anyone moving in the same direction, you can only move forwards, and only one person per stone. If you break the rules or you can no longer make any legal moves without having completed the task, you'll have to start over again. You ready?"

It seemed needlessly simple at first, but they soon found it to be deceptively so. Apparently switching spots counted as two people moving at once _and _sharing spots, so they had to start over right off the bat.

Their next several attempts ended up with people moving the same direction bunched up, leaving no legal moves. At that point they started to get frustrated, thinking that the task was an exercise in futility. Upon having to restart for what felt like the hundredth time, JJ said, "I think we're over-thinking this... Let's just think about this like a game of chess..."

Reid interrupted her saying, "Technically speaking, it's more like checkers..."

Emily, who was standing behind him, smacked him upside the head gently and reprimanded, "Focus!"

Rossi stepped into the empty middle stone in the only move they knew to be right. Morgan then moved into the spot Rossi had just vacated and JJ stepped onto the stone in front of her. "Now Rossi needs to move into the spot JJ just left," Reid directed, the checkers metaphor getting his neurons firing. "JJ, take a step forward," he continued. They all tried to visualize the solution from here, having gotten this far before.

"No!" Morgan said sharply before she could move. "Then we'll get bunched up again! Reid needs to take that spot."

Once they started communicating their ideas, things started to work effectively. Several times they almost got caught in a wrong move, but luckily someone was always on the ball. Making the last move to clear the middle stone, Emily jumped to the free stone but overshot slightly, knocking Reid off his stone and into Rossi in a domino effect.

"Oops!" she said with an innocent giggle. "What's a traffic jam without a little fender-bender?"


	5. Strung Up

The sky lightened from midnight black to overcast morning grey, the chill night air winning out over the weak convection of the sun... the perfect morning to sleep in and miss. Clearly Ally and Neil had other plans for them though, as a sudden ruckus woke the team from their much needed rest. Groaning, they buried their heads under their pillows, hoping to drown out the noise, which sounded like the clanging of pots and pans. There was a moment of deceptive silence then a knocking at the door. Neil's voice perforated the morning air, "Up 'n' at 'em! Everyone get dressed and pack for the day! If everyone isn't ready in fifteen minutes, you'll be washing dishes tonight... for the whole camp!"

That got their attention; instantly everyone scrambled out of bed to hurriedly prepare for the day. Last night they had been told they would need loose, comfortable clothing, sneakers, and a lot of water. They would be away from the camp, in the sun, the entire day... They just didn't know what was waiting in store for them.

When they had all assembled outside the cabin they were all handed a travel mug of coffee and a bag of trail mix for their makeshift breakfast. "Let's make like a tree and 'leaf',' Ally said with a chuckle, "It's a long walk and we've got to get a move on if we're gonna have enough time for today's activity."

******

After nearly an hour of more a zombie-like shuffle than a hike they emerged from the woods and, craning their necks back, saw the zenith of camp activity... the ropes course. The sight was met with mixed reactions, Reid looked so excited he might burst from his enthusiasm, Emily bit at her lip nervously, and Rossi whispered to Hotch, "I hope they have an ambulance on standby..."

Neil's voice snapped them from their reverie, as he took them through the paces of preparing to use the course, reading out rules, going over the 'values contract', informing them of the risks involved, and teaching them how to 'spot' each other on the course. When he finally ended his long-winded speech, Reid looked all the more excited and Emily all the more anxious.

Starting with a few low ropes games to get them warmed up, there was a palpable feeling of impatience to get to the high ropes. The only way they were allowed up to the platform to start the high ropes was via rock-climbing, "It builds trust on a one-on-one basis," Neil had explained.

But the rock face had quickly proven to be of little challenge, so they had to up the difficulty. Reaching into her backpack, Ally pulled out several blindfolds and announced, "The climbers are all going to be blind!"

Emily felt the bottom drop out of her stomach as Morgan helped her tie the piece of cloth behind her head and then turned her to face the wall. "On belay?" she asked, tightening her grip on the initial holds.

"Belay on."

"Climbing," she replied, despite the fact that she'd rather be doing anything else.

"Climb on." Very calmly, he narrated a route for her, "There's a hold about five inches straight above your right hand. Slightly to the left and up, there's a ledge you can get your left foot on."

Somehow, she had no idea how, she managed to make it several feet up the wall before breaking down. She felt her palms sweating despite the layer of chalk dusting them. Her entire body trembled so heavily she thought she would lose her hold on the wall. Her breath started to come in heavy gulps, making her feel dizzy and the roaring of blood rushing past her ears drowned out all noise.

"Em!" Morgan shouted, then repeated his last direction, "There's a little lip of rock about eye-level, grab it with your left hand." When she made no move, he called, "What's wrong?"

"I can't!" she shouted back, her voice cracking as she fought to hold back tears, "I can't do it!"

"Yes, you can!"

"It's too high!" She lost the battle to keep from crying and it came out as a sob.

Taking up all the slack in the rope, Morgan told her, "Em, just calm down. Let go of the wall and take a break." She cautiously let go of the wall and sat back, her feet bracing against the wall. "Just take a few deep breaths," he coached, "Then when you're ready you can start climbing again."

She wiped away a tear that had escaped under the blindfold, smudging chalk across her cheek. "No," she said, a hint of the hysteria gone, "I'm done, it's too hard."

"No, it's not," Morgan argued, "You _can _do this. Just relax; I've got you and I'm not going to let you fall. Just trust that I'll keep you safe." She still seemed on the fence, biting her lip nervously. "You trust me on the ground, right?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, without hesitation.

"And you trusted me before, when you weren't blindfolded?"

"Yes, but..."

He interrupted her, "So trust me now."

Again she paused. Then, with a sniffle, she relented, "Okay..."

"Are you ready to try again?" he asked. She nodded and reached out to grab hold of the wall again.

*****

Taking it slowly, Morgan carefully directed her to each successive hold, pausing every few minutes to reassure her that he still had her and that she was doing awesome. When she reached the top, he called, "Take off your blindfold."

"I reached the top?" she asked, disbelief clear in her voice as she pulled away the cloth.

"Yep, I told you that you could do it."

She pulled herself up onto the ledge and, grinning from ear to ear, peered over the edge at him. He smiled back and held up a hand for a 'virtual high-five'. Returning the gesture, she said, "Thanks to you..."

He shook his head, "No way, it was all you. You just needed to believe in yourself."

******

At the top of the course, they had to work through what Neil and Ally called the _Commitment Bridge_, which was basically two cables in a 'V' shape, getting farther apart the farther down the line you travelled. In pairs, they had to cross to the other platform, using only each other for support, not counting the harness stopping them from plummeting to certain death. They were told to pretend they were travelling through the Grand Canyon and had come to an old bridge where the slats had rotted away, leaving the guide wires as the only way to cross.

Hotch and JJ stood at the beginning, ensuring for what seemed like the thousandth that the carabiners clipping them to their life-line were safely locked. Finally satisfied that it would hold, Hotch looked up and asked, "Afraid of heights?"

"Not usually," JJ replied, looking up at him then out at the distance they had to cross. "But this just seems wildly dangerous."

"I'm sure it's safe," he told her awkwardly. She reached out to grip his wrists, having been instructed not to interlock fingers for safety reasons. Stepping out onto the cables, he said, "Just don't look down."

"Too late..." she said, gulping nervously. "It's a _really _long way down..."

"Just don't think about it," he reassured. Seeking to distract her, he said, "Talk to me; tell me something about Henry."

Keeping her gaze away from the ground, she thought for a minute, but was too distracted. "Umm... I can't think of anything..."

"I'll go first," he said, "Last weekend there was a fly in the house. Jack got out the fly-swatter and followed the fly around the house trying to kill it. Each time he smacked the fly-swatter against something, he'd shout 'got 'im!'... Not that he ever actually hit it..."

JJ laughed and thinking for a minute, said, "Henry's just learning how to crawl..."

******

"I'm never going up there again!" Emily said as she collapsed on her bed after their exhausting and nerve-wracking day.

"It's not that bad..." JJ shrugged.

"Yeah, I liked it," Reid smiled.

"Kid, you like everything... You'd like eating spiders if I told you that was part of camp."

They laughed, but quickly quieted as a chain-saw snore sounded through the cabin, evidence that Hotch and Rossi were both already sound asleep. "We should hit the hay too," JJ whispered, not wanting to disturb them.

"Yeah, Mom and Dad'll be pissed if we wake them up." Chuckling, they lay back and closed their eyes, the soft sounds of deep breathing reminding them of their own exhaustion.


	6. In the Gutter

They gathered near the bottom of a hill with Neil and Ally for their next activity. "See that red flag at the on top of the hill?" Neil asked as he pointed to the bright pennant marking the location of a large bucket. "That's your target for our next game, _Gutter Ball_."

"You have to get this marble from here to up there, into the container with these pipes," Ally continued. "You have to balance it and make sure it doesn't drop. If it does, you have to start all over again."

"And, just for fun, let's crank this up a notch... the two people who drop the ball the most have to make dinner tonight." Neil smiled, "Let's get this party started. You have five minutes to plan your strategy."

******

They first took measure of the trees, stumps, rocks, fallen logs, and general forest debris barring their way, figuring out how best to traverse the obstacle-ridden terrain. Of course, they wouldn't be satisfied with just completing the task, they were aiming to beat the camp record for fastest time. After a short discussion, the team had decided to travel in an order, Reid starting, then JJ a few feet away, followed by Emily, Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi. Each person would then sprint to the end of the line to repeat the pattern.

Within the first few minutes of the game it became clear that the most difficult element was balancing the marble while moving uphill and dodging obstacles, attempting to travel as quickly as possible the entire time. After ten minutes, Emily had already managed to rack up an astounding number of drops, Morgan a close second.

After receiving the ball from Emily, Morgan carefully made his way up the hill towards Hotch. Concentrating on not letting the ball drop, Morgan didn't notice the small puddle in his way... The slick mud caused him to slip and tumble to the ground.

"Oh, you think that's funny..." Morgan glowered, turning to Emily who was attempting to keep her giggling covert and failing.

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not..."

"You're right, I'm not."

"Well, you're gonna be..." All thoughts of the game abandoned, Morgan grabbed Emily and pulled her down beside him and started tickling her until she struggled to breathe.

"Please, stop..." she pleaded breathlessly, "I'm really sorry this time."

"You guys are acting like third graders!" JJ teased. _Even a blind man could see there's something going on between them_... Emily and Morgan stopped and looked at each other impishly. Grinning, they stood and ganged up on JJ. "Help!" JJ laughed.

Rossi and Hotch stood at the top of the hill, watching their team, a smile crossing their faces. _They are more than just a team, they're a family_. Hotch smiled wider as he watched Reid being pulled into the scrum with a yelp of surprise.

*****

After their little 'break', they continued on with the game. Hotch was slowly making his way towards Rossi when his concentration was disrupted. Morgan, having passed on the marble, made his way to the end of the line and unthinkingly let a branch snap back. Hotch ducked, narrowly missing the branch, but dropping the marble which rolled down the hill. Without thinking, he chased after it; he was so focused on catching up to the run-away ball he didn't even notice the tree in front of him.

"Hotch!" JJ shouted, hoping to get his attention before face met bark. Too late. "Ouch!" she winced. She rushed to help him up while the rest of the team howled with laughter.

******

Peering out the cabin window, Rossi frowned as he watched Emily and Morgan preparing dinner... Well, they weren't exactly preparing dinner, it was more like they were staring at the ingredients looking clueless. He had never seen them cook, but from the stories he had heard from JJ and Reid, it would be a miracle if they didn't all end up with food poisoning. It was supposed to be Emily and Morgan's punishment for dropping the ball, but from the looks of it, the rest of the team were the ones being punished...

"You have an eidetic memory," he said to Reid, "Do me a favour, when it's their turn to cook for us, remind me to pick up a pizza."

*****

Emily and Morgan sat in front of the small fire they had built, staring at the ingredients in front of them in horror, while other campers around them seemed completely in their element. "I can't cook..." Morgan confessed, "The last time I made anything other than a peanut butter sandwich... Even Clooney wouldn't eat it."

"Let's just say the only thing I can make is coffee."

"We can do this," he said logically, "It's just dinner."

"Yeah, dinner... Do s'mores count as dinner?" Emily asked hopefully.

"No they don't." Ally stood behind them and smiled at their antics. "Look, it's really easy," she said, passing them a large pot. "Cook the macaroni in boiling water. When it's soft, pour out the water and add cheese, milk, ground beef, and stewed tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir for a few minutes until the cheese melts. Don't worry, you'll be fine," she added encouragingly.

"Do you think they deliver pizza here?" Morgan whispered as Ally walked away.

Emily sighed, "Let's do this. We'll be fine... Right?"

"I sure hope so..."

******

"How would we know if the macaroni has softened?" Emily asked Morgan who was busy keeping the fire going.

"Try it."

Scooping a piece of macaroni from the pot, burning her fingers in the water in the process, Emily hesitantly put it into her mouth. _Okay, maybe a while more._

After a few moments of waiting, they got bored. Morgan picked up a stick and drew a grid on the ground. After drawing an 'X' in the middle square, he passed the stick to Emily, "Your turn."

"Tic-tac-toe? What are you, five?"

"Come on, you've got nothing to do anyway," he said, nudging her.

"Fine."

After the first round, Emily realised that the game was more fun then she remembered. But then again, being the only child with no friends to play with you, nothing is a lot of fun. They played a few more rounds, completely forgetting about the macaroni boiling in the pot. When they finally remembered, it was a little too late.

"At least it's cooked..." Emily said as she poured the water out.

"Let's just move on to the rest of the ingredients," Morgan encouraged. They both felt a little nauseous after looking at the beyond over-cooked macaroni - something that countless dead bodies hadn't been able to do.

******

JJ stared at the mess in front of her and figured out that _that_ was dinner. "At least it's cooked," Emily repeated sheepishly.

"Yeah, it's so cooked the macaroni doesn't even stay in one piece."

Shutting her eyes tightly in preparation for what she was sure was coming, JJ hesitantly put a spoonful into her mouth and spit it out just as quickly. Seeing her reaction, the others pushed their plates away, deciding that it was better to go hungry than die of salmonella.

"Did you boil it in the dead sea?" JJ spluttered after downing her bottle of water. "And it's really dry!"

"Ally told us to use salt and pepper to taste..." Morgan said timidly, not daring to look JJ in the eye. She was tired and, thanks to them, hungry, a combination resulting in unavoidable crankiness.

"Did you add milk?" Hotch asked, shepherding the noodles around his plate with his fork.

"There was supposed to be milk in there?" Emily asked, looking around for the missing ingredient.

"I was thirsty, so I drank it..." Morgan grimaced guiltily. "I didn't know there was supposed to be milk in this..."

"How's it going?" Neil came over to check on them.

"Excuse me..." JJ stood up quickly and sprinted for the latrines.

Neil's gaze followed her for a moment before returning to the other campers. Confusion was clear in his voice as he asked, "Did I miss something?"

"I'll remember never go to Emily or Morgan's place for Thanksgiving," Reid muttered, "And Rossi, I'll pick up the pizza if they ever cook for us again."

Hotch and Rossi laughed while Emily and Morgan looked at each other in embarrassment.


	7. Sugar Rush

Their excellent teamwork earned them the next day off and they were all looking forwards to a day of relaxation. Unfortunately, that was the morning that the sun chose to interrupt their plans to sleep in, beating down through the windows with all the intensity of an incubator, making it too hot and too bright inside the cabin to continue sleeping.

Over their morning coffee, they debated how best to spend the day. After examining the map of the camp, they discovered a small lake just on the outskirts and instantly their heads were filled with images of the perfect summer's day. After informing the counsellors of where they would be for the day, they began packing a lunch. Hotch, Rossi, Reid, and JJ formed a sandwich assembly line and when Morgan and Prentiss returned from filling everyones' water bottles, Morgan asked, "What do you want us to help with?"

"Nothing!" they cried in unison, not sure how the two could mess up sandwiches, but sure that they would find a way.

"Why don't you look at the map and decide the quickest way to get there," Rossi suggested.

As they returned to the cabin to get the map, the others breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank God!" JJ said.

Returning to their work, Reid piped up, "Why don't we sing a song while we work?"

"We're not the _Seven Dwarves_, Reid," said Hotch, shaking his head.

"But it's been proven that singing a song while doing manual labour increases productivity and efficiency! The song provides a constant rhythm which the work can be timed to, allowing for..."

Hotch, Rossi, and JJ shut their eyes and lolled their heads onto their shoulders, faking snores. "Fine! Now you'll never know..." Reid grumbled.

"Promise?" JJ laughed.

******

It was a short hike to get to the lake, but one that involved much traversing of dense forest. By the time they emerged onto the sandy lake shore, they had never been so glad to see cool water. Immediately JJ, Emily, and Morgan leapt into the water, but Reid, Hotch, and Rossi remained on the shore.

"Come on, you guys," Morgan said.

"No thanks," Rossi said, "I want to get in some fishing before it gets too hot."

Hotch similarly declined, following Rossi to the little fishing shed by the lake.

Morgan turned to Reid who was standing on the beach looking wary. "Well, what about you kid?"

"Um... No thanks."

"Come on!" Emily insisted, "You can't go to camp and then not swim in the lake..."

"Don't make me come out there and get you..." Morgan threatened.

"Okay, okay," he relented. Stepping carefully to the edge of the lake, he gave a squeak and jumped back when the cold water hit his feet. The others burst out laughing as he made another attempt at entering the lake, this time taking a run at it, hesitating at the last second, and winding up doing an awkward belly flop into the icy water.

"It's NOT funny!" he insisted as he surfaced, shaking away the damp hair clinging to his face.

******

Morgan was rummaging in his backpack and, finding the object of his search, tossed the football over towards where the girls were sitting. His aim was off though and instead of hitting Emily in the head, the ball collided with JJ's shoulder. "Ow!" she yelped, turning to glare at Morgan, "What was that for?"

"Sorry," he shrugged sheepishly, "I was aiming for Em..." Emily also turned to glare at him. He shielded his face against their scalding gaze, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He clapped his hands and indicated they should pass the ball back, "Football anyone?"

Reid groaned, "Could you have picked a more unfair game?"

Morgan gave him a quizzical look. "What?"

"Well, obviously your team is going to win since you actually played football..."

"Fine," Morgan said, "You and JJ will be on my team, then it'll be fair."

"Hey!" both Reid and JJ cried, insulted.

Morgan threw his hands up in the air aggravatedly, "I just can't do anything right..."

Emily laughed as she snatched the ball from his hands on her way to join Hotch and Rossi, "You're going down..."

*****

Several plays into the game, despite the no-tackle rule, they were all bruised and muddy and neither side had any points to show for it. Catching the ball then stumbling over a root to the ground, Emily rolled onto her back and shielded her face as Reid half fell/half dove to catch the fumble. Groaning, she picked herself up off the ground and brushed some of the dirt from her knees, "I think I've had enough football for one day."

"I agree," JJ laughed, "Too much testosterone for me..."

"You can't go!" Morgan insisted, "We're in the middle of the game!"

The two women rolled their eyes, "The teams are still even, you guys keep playing."

"Whatever," Morgan shrugged. Then a sudden look of realization passed over his face and he shouted, "The play's still live!"

Reid yelped, his eyes the size of saucers, and ran for his life... towards the wrong end-zone.

*****

JJ sat at the water's edge, swishing her feet through the water, while Emily stood in the water up to her knees, attempting to wash away the garden's worth of soil she had managed to accumulate during the game. JJ's phone chimed in her pocket and answering it, she smiled, hearing Garcia's voice on the other end of the line.

"Hola, my camping queen, I hope I'm not interrupting your fun-filled day of team building," Garcia chirped.

JJ smiled, she could tell that Garcia was feeling a little left out. "No, we actually got the day off to celebrate our 'remarkable success'," she quoted. As Emily sat down beside her, only slightly less muddy, she switched to speaker phone.

"Well, that makes one of us..." Garcia pouted.

"We wish you could be here with us," Emily assured.

That seemed to adequately placate her and she cheered up instantly, asking, "So, are you guys enjoying yourselves?"

A wide grin spreading across her face, JJ replied, "Emily's sure enjoying herself with Morgan..."

"What?" Garcia squealed, "Tell me _everything_!"

"It's nothing," Emily insisted.

"Oh, come on..." JJ rolled her eyes, "Everybody sees it but you..." She elaborated for Garcia's sake, "Where do I start... The pillow fight, the way he coached you up the rock wall, making dinner... Which part of that was 'nothing'?"

Garcia clapped happily, "Oh, this is too great!"

"She's not even paying attention now..." JJ went on, "She's too busy watching him play football..."

Emily's gaze snapped away from Morgan who, since they had stopped playing, had removed his shirt. "I was not..."

"Oh, sweetie," Garcia said, "I'm not even there and I can tell you're lying..."

JJ laughed as a pink tinge crept up Emily's cheeks, "She's blushing..."

******

They all sat around the campfire outside their cabin, roasting marshmallows. Everyone laughed as Reid once again wrung out the shirt he had been wearing earlier, still soaked with lake water from when Morgan had pushed him in. He propped his shoes up by the fire, hoping to dry them out before the next morning.

"So how do these s'more things work?" he asked, sharply pulling his marshmallow out of the coals and blowing on it to put out the flames engulfing it.

Emily shifted to help him, explaining, "You put the marshmallow and the chocolate between the graham crackers." She handed the s'more to Reid before sucking the marshmallow off her fingers, "It's the ultimate sugar rush..."

A coyote howled in the distance and JJ smiled wickedly, "Let's tell ghost stories!"

"We're not ten..." Morgan rolled his eyes.

"Fine, whatever..." JJ goaded, "If you're too scared..."

"Do your worst..." Morgan challenged.

"There was this man and everyday he went for a walk; his route always took him past this one house where there was always a beautiful ballerina dancing in the window. She was so beautiful that he quickly became transfixed and longed to get a closer look at her. So one day, he built up enough nerve and went to look through the peephole in the door. Looking in, all he could see was red... He was confused but thought nothing of it. That night he was talking to his friend and he asked, 'You know that house with the ballerina dancing in the window?' His friend replied, 'You mean...'"

Just then Reid, who was finishing off his fourth s'more, interrupted, "Whoa... I think I've had a few too many s'mores..."

"You've gotta go easy on those," Morgan cautioned, "What is that like your fifth one?"

"Just... just f-f-four," he replied, holding up four quivering fingers.

"Dude, you're shaking..."

"I think it's the sugar..."

"Why don't go take a lap of the cabins," Hotch suggested, "Try and burn off some of that excess energy."

"Good idea!" Reid jumped up and sprinted off around the corner of the cabin.

"He is gonna be so wired tonight," Rossi laughed, "He's not going to sleep a wink."

"Way to interrupt!" JJ scolded, "You totally ruined the suspense!"

They laughed at her annoyance. "Go ahead and finish," Hotch prompted.

"His friend says, 'You mean the ballerina with the red eyes..."

"Eww... that's creepy!" Emily shuddered.

Reid sprinted back into view, slightly out of breath. Rossi stifled a yawn, "I think I'm going to turn in..."

"Me too," Hotch said.

Reid sat back down at the fireside and reached for another marshmallow. "Oh no you don't!" JJ scolded, snatching the bag away. "I think you need to remove yourself from the temptation of s'mores." She pulled him up and shepherded him towards the cabin, leaving Emily and Morgan alone.

Suddenly feeling awkward, Emily pulled the marshmallow she was roasting out of the fire to examine it. Content that it had been thoroughly cooked, she sandwiched it between the crackers, adding extra chocolate. She bit at her lip for a minute before deciding to be bold. Turning to Morgan she commanded, "Open..."

Smiling suggestively, he turned to her and opened his mouth. She held out the s'more for him to take a bite, accidentally smudging marshmallow across his cheek in the process. As he swallowed the last bite, she licked her finger and attempted to rub away the sticky remnants. She left her hand lingering on her cheek a moment too long and he stared into her eyes. Before either could think about what they were doing, they leaned in.

Their lips were separated by mere millimeters when a log on the fire shifted suddenly, emitting a loud pop, startling them both. They jumped back and the moment was gone. Face flushed, Emily scrubbed a nervous hand through her hair. "We should probably..."

"Yeah," he agreed too quickly, extinguishing the fire for the night.


	8. Jungle Survival

Saying that you could have cut the tension over breakfast with a knife was an understatement, it hung over the table as thick as caramel syrup. After their almost kiss the previous night, Morgan and Emily had been avoiding each other. The usually lively team was unusually silent today. Morgan and Emily refused to even look at each other, something Hotch and Rossi hadn't failed to notice, Reid was too excited to care. JJ sat there wondering if she should give them a hand, but decided that it wasn't her place to meddle in the affairs of the heart. After all, they're mature adults - most of the time - who are capable of solving their own problems.

The team gathered outside the main cabin after breakfast; their camp counsellors were waiting with equipment spread across the ground. Eyeing the equipment suspiciously, they wondered what they could possibly be doing that required so many supplies. "Before we tell you what our next exercise is, we're going to split you into pairs," Ally informed them.

"In here there are straws of three different colours," Neil explained as he held up a small bag, "Each of you will take one straw and whoever has the same colour of straw will be your partner."

Pulling a straw from the bag, Emily looked around and realised that Morgan had the same blue straw, she groaned. _Of course! The universe hates me!_

When everyone stood together in their pairs, Neil said, "Okay, great. So this exercise is _Jungle Survival_. But since we are currently short one jungle, it's really more like forest survival," he paused to laugh at his own joke. They got the feeling that instructing people so early in the morning had given him an unrealistic view of how humorous his jokes were. "Each pair will get two sleeping bags, one tent, a map, and a compass," he continued.

"You guys will go into the woods with the supplies you have and stay there for a night. We'll gather back here tomorrow morning." Ally passed them their supplies as she briefed them on their activity, "The objective of this exercise is to facilitate better communication between team members... so try not kill one another." They laughed half-heartedly at the second unfunny joke of the day.

"There is only one rule in this exercise: you and your partner have to stay together at all times. Good luck!" Neil said brightly.

"Before we move off, Reid, two more rules," Rossi whispered.

"They said there's only one rule..." Reid looked at Rossi, confusion written on his face.

"These ones are just for you, you're special," Rossi replied. Reid smiled slightly upon hearing that he was special, but his face fell as soon as Rossi told him the two other rules. "No singing camp songs and don't talk about my books."

******

A rare, full breeze made its way down from the canopy of trees above her. She slowed a moment to let this opportunity swoop in and surround her skin, it felt good. With the forest so lush and thick with trees, the two forces of nature clashed. Eventually the trees won out, beating back the wind until it was only able to break through the humid woods in rare kaleidoscopic blessings. Emily sighed and willed herself to lurch forward another step, her eyes fixed on the trail in front of her and the flash of khakis trudging ahead of her.

"Damn it," Morgan mumbled as his foot sloshed through an errant puddle, the muddy water all but submerging his sneakers. As if things weren't bad enough already, now he had wet feet.

"You alright?" Emily asked softly, her breathing slightly laboured from climbing the steep hill.

"Yeah, didn't see the puddle there."

"Oh..." she said awkwardly, "Be careful." She avoided eye contact with him.

"Emily..." he said softly, hesitating. She knew what was coming; he obviously wanted to talk about last night. She couldn't deal with it yet, at least not while they were trudging through the middle of nowhere.

"Let's go. I wanna settle down before it gets dark."

******

"What did I say about singing Reid?" Rossi asked as they trekked through the woods towards a clearing to settle in for the night.

"Don't do it," Reid replied, hanging his head guilty. He had broken the rules. "But technically, that wasn't in the official rules..."

Checking the map again, Rossi let out a sigh of relief that their destination was just through the next break of trees. Not knowing how much more of Reid's antics he could take, he picked up his pace and made a dash for the clearing. At least his ears would be able to take a break for a while upon reaching their destination.

******

"You got the fire started already?" Hotch asked incredulously as JJ nursed an adolescent flame. It was only a few moments ago that he had returned with some scrounged kindling to start a fire with.

With a twinkle in her eyes, she stretched out her palm revealing a small lighter, "I had help."

"You cheated." Hotch gave her a small smile.

"My dad always told me to bring along a lighter when we go camping." She smiled, "I'm glad I listened to him."

He sat down beside her; leaning against a tree, he stretched out his legs and realised how tired he was. Staring into the sky, he sighed softly. "What's wrong?" JJ asked as she passed him their dinner.

"Nothing, I just miss Jack," he admitted.

"I know how you feel. I can't wait to see Henry again." Taking her phone from her pocket, she clicked a few buttons and passed her phone to Hotch. "See, this is first time he sat up by himself," she said proudly.

Pushing another button, "And this is his first Christmas." Then, realizing what she had done, she wanted to kick herself. _Hotch didn't ask for updates on Henry. He probably doesn't care if he sits or stands!_ "I'm sorry, bad habit."

"Don't worry. I don't mind," he smiled knowingly.

"Really?"

He fished his phone from his own pocket and showed her videos of Jack. "That's his first soccer game. See, he scored a goal. You should really take videos instead."

JJ smiled, "You're right."

They spent the entire night discussing their sons, exchanging funny stories. Hotch hadn't had such a fun night since Haley left. Then it suddenly dawned on him that he didn't want this night to end. Little did he know that JJ felt the same way.

******

They sat in their tent in awkward silence, the only sound was the pitter-patter of the rain against the canvas roof. A clap of thunder roared across the sky, startling Emily, causing her to jump. Morgan quickly moved to her side and pulled her to him, shielding her against the storm raging outside the tent. For a moment, she forgot about the incident of the night before and relaxed in his embrace. But the instant her brain recovered from the shock of the thunder, she pushed him away.

"Emily..." Morgan tried again.

"I'm turning in..."

"Stop avoiding me, Em," he sighed. "Please."

Emily sighed. _You have to deal with this sooner or later._ "Last night... I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault," he said softly.

She shook her head ever so slightly, chewing her lip thoughtfully, before opening her mouth to disagree with him. Without thinking, he placed his index finger on her lips to silence her. The softness of her lips and his impulsive reaction to her interruption shocked him into pulling his finger away as if burned. He looked at her for a moment, watching her, gauging her reaction, searching her eyes for some kind of permission for what he was about to do. His hand cautiously moved to her cheek and cupped it gently, his thumb gently grazed her soft skin as his fingers ran up into her hair. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer, giving him the permission he sought. She lost herself momentarily in his soft, sweet kisses and the way their tongues were moving in perfect synchrony, dancing a slow sultry salsa. His free hand moved down to her waist, gripping it slightly and drawing her closer to him. Her own hands were roaming his back, pulling him as close to her as she could possibly get him.

After what felt like an infinite moment, they broke the kiss, both slightly breathless. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. She grinned at the sight of his smile.

"Any chance I get an encore?" Morgan whispered.

Laughing, she replied, "Maybe..."

******

Rossi woke up in the middle of the night, shocked out of slumber by an icy wind razing through the tent. Staring into the night sky, he frowned before nudging the younger profiler sleeping soundly beside him. Reid stirred and mumbled in his sleep earning him another sharp jab to the ribs.

Opening his eyes, he turned to face Rossi. "Yes?"

"Reid, look up and tell me what you see," Rossi said, pointing at the sky.

Reid frowned, confused at the request but obliging anyway. "The rain stopped. It's a full moon..." he replied.

Rossi was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "There's a very large rip in the roof of the tent..."


	9. Play With Fire, You Wind Up Burned

Returning from their night in the woods found both Hotch and JJ and Morgan and Emily in a cheerful mood, but Rossi and Reid decidedly not. Their midnight misfortune had resulted in a spur of the moment attempt to patch the hole in the tent using the duct tape Rossi had luckily had in his pack. But the tape had refused to stick to the sodden canvas so, as the rain started to beat down again, they had hurriedly unpegged the tent and dragged it under the trees to stave off some of the water. And, as anyone who has ever attempted to sleep on root-laden ground knows, it made for a very uncomfortable night. Their story was met with much laughter, which only served to further annoy the two.

It was almost noon by the time all of them gathered outside the main cabin with Ally and Neil. They were all half asleep and barely heard a word as they discussed what they had learned from the day's activity. When they were finally finished, Ally suggested, "Why don't you take a few hours wash up and rest and then meet us back here around five."

As he dragged his backpack heavily along the ground, making his way back to the cabin, Rossi grumbled, "I'm going back to bed..."

Dropping her backpack on the floor by her bed, Emily examined her mud-splattered legs, a result of the heavy night rain on the dirt trail. "I call first shower," she announced to the cabin at large.

"Not if I get there first," JJ retorted.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Emily called, taking off at a sprint out the door. Hotch, Morgan, and Reid laughed as JJ dashed after her; Rossi was already sound asleep.

*****

While Reid and Hotch had also invested in their spare time by napping, Morgan had chosen to wait until the shower was free. Evidently, Emily had made it to the shower first because a few minutes after their race, JJ had came trudging back. She sat on the porch with Morgan to wait, but had soon fallen asleep leaning against the wooden wall.

Grinning slyly, Morgan quietly made his way to the bath house. Finding the door open he tiptoed in, careful not to make a sound. For a moment, he just stood there smiling, watching Emily twist her hair into a french braid. He quietly stepped up behind her and, because of the condensation covered mirror, she didn't see him until he hooked a finger through her belt loop and spun her around to face him.

Smiling, he leaned down to capture her lips with his. For a moment she gave into the kiss, her knees buckling out from under her, but she was knocked sharply back to reality as Morgan ever so slightly forced her backwards, ramming her back into the counter. "Oww..." she yelped softly. She felt his laughter against her lips as he gently lifted her onto the counter. She allowed for another moment of indulgence before she pulled back. "We can't... We could get caught..." she said softly.

Between kisses, he whispered, "I could... lock... the door..."

With much self-discipline, she carefully lowered herself back to the floor. "Not now..."

"There's still hope for later then?" he asked, smirking.

Laughing, she headed towards the door and quipped, "The shower's all yours... And don't worry, I used up all the hot water..."

******

"You guys seem a little sleepy," Ally noted as the hiked along the trail, "Why don't we sing a few rounds of _Black Socks _to wake everyone up?"

"That's a great idea!" Neil said enthusiastically. Turning to the team trudging along behind them, he explained, "This is a really fun song! You've gotta start out really quiet and get louder with each verse until you're shouting. Does anyone know the song?"

"I do..." Hotch admitted, quietly.

"Awesome!" Ally said, "Why don't you lead us."

Hotch glared at Morgan who was snickering as he began, _"Black socks, they never get dirty, the longer you wear them the stronger they get."_

*****

Not that any of them would ever admit it, they actually did enjoy singing _Black Socks_. As the trail came to its end at the edge of a clearing, they were all singing at the top of their lungs, _"Sometimes I think of the laundry, but something keeps telling me 'No, no, not yet!'"_

By that time the cerulean afternoon sky was already fading to dusky grey and the pale ghosts of the moon and stars hinted at night's imminent arrival. A very large campfire crackled in the centre of the clearing and other campers were milling about.

"Welcome to the _Pine Tree Jamboree_!" Ally announced happily.

"Oh God..." Hotch muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

"This is a chance for you to get to know some of the other campers and just blow off some steam."

As Ally and Neil walked off, leaving them to their own devices, the team shared a look clearly saying, _you've got to be kidding me_...

"Well, let's make the best of this..." JJ sighed.

Ever the camping optimist, Reid gave a gasp of excitement as he looked towards the fire. "They're making s'mores!"

Laughing as Reid went to join those already roasting marshmallows, Morgan called after him, "Go easy on the s'mores this time!"

"You're not the boss of me!" Reid retorted.

"I need a drink," Emily groaned, "I really hope they have alcohol..." With that, she made her way over to where some of the counsellors were serving drinks, purposefully skirting the vicinity of the fire.

_******_

Standing apart from the campers clustered around the fire, drink in hand, Emily was startled by the sudden voice next to her. "Do you believe in love at first sight... or should I walk by again?"

She almost choked on her sip of hot chocolate. "Excuse me?" she asked incredulously.

The man laughed, "I'm really sorry, my buddies dared me to do that." He paused to give an exaggerated wave to the group of men standing several yards away laughing uproariously. Turning back to her with a charming smile, he asked, "But seriously, what's a pretty thing like you doing all alone?"

Smiling at the compliment despite herself, she pointed towards Reid and said, "See the guy almost vibrating from the sugar high, roasting like six marshmallows at once? Well, I'm making sure he doesn't overdose on s'mores..." The man laughed genuinely and she elaborated, "He's new to the whole camping thing and he's annoying enough as it is..."

"I'm Shane, by the way," he introduced himself, extending a hand.

"Emily," she reciprocated.

Instead of shaking her hand as she had expected, he brought it up to his lips and tenderly kissed it. "Pleased to meet you."

*****

From the other side of the fire, Morgan felt his blood boil as he watched _him _kiss the back of her hand. His grip on his mug tightened, sloshing its contents over his hand. _He _kept hold of her hand several moments longer than was altogether necessary. _He _stared at her with a lust in his eyes of such an intensity to make a father clean his rifle...

Morgan decided to give _him _a piece of his mind and tell _him_ to stay away from her if he wanted to live to see his next birthday. He stepped purposefully towards them when his progress was interrupted by Neil who struck up a conversation. "Damn it!" he hissed under his breath as he watched _him _place a hand on her arm.

*****

Shane laughed, "I'll bet it wasn't that bad..."

"You don't even understand... The noodles weren't so much noodles as a paste... The entire team went hungry rather than eat it," she smiled as she described the disastrous attempt at cooking dinner.

"So..." he said after a slight lull in the conversation.

Emily started to feel slightly uncomfortable with all the attention he was focusing on her, not that it was anything she couldn't handle. She knew he was angling to get her number, something she had no intention of giving. She didn't know if whatever was happening between her and Morgan was going to amount to anything, but this guy was nowhere near the same caliber as him and she certainly wasn't going to take the risk of losing him.

But before she could shoot him down on her own though, Morgan beat her to it. Having side-stepped Neil, he stomped purposefully towards them and pulled Shane aside with a forceful grip on his upper arm.

Emily gave a startled cry and hissed, "Morgan, what are you doing?"

Ignoring her for the moment, Morgan growled, "You stay away from her!"

"What?" he asked slightly warily, but not one to back down.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from her!"

"What are you going to do about it?" Shane challenged.

"You don't want to find out..." Morgan said, his voice dangerously low.

Before things could get out of control, Emily interrupted. Grabbing Morgan's wrist and twisting it behind his back until he squirmed in pain, she forced him to be quiet. To Shane, she said, "I'm really sorry if I lead you on, but I never had any intention of taking this beyond a casual conversation..." With an apologetic smile she lead Morgan away, only releasing her grip on his wrist when they reached the trail leading away from the clearing.

******

The entire walk back to the cabin Emily didn't say a word, but Morgan could sense that she was silently fuming. He didn't try to break the silence by talking her down, knowing that would only make it worse. Only when they had reached the cabin did she allow her anger to explode. "You had no right!" she hissed.

"What?"

"You had no right to treat me like property!"

"You're right, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I was out of line..."

"Out of line?" she repeated incredulously. "You were so far past the line..." she was too furious to come up with an end to that sentence. "It's not your place to decide who I talk to! We kissed twice," she reminded him.

"I know..." he said softly, not daring to meet her eyes, "I just thought..." He paused and, seeing the annoyance in her eyes, finished quieter, "...it meant something."

Clearly that had been the wrong thing to say because her glare became icy. "I can't believe you just said that!" Tears began to sparkle in her eyes, "That you would even think that it didn't mean something to me..." The end of her sentence caught in her throat. Before she broke into tears, she turned on her heel and went into the cabin, slamming the door behind her.

Morgan winced at the slamming of the door against the frame. He allowed a few minutes to pass before he came in after her. She was lying in her bunk, seemingly asleep, but he could tell from her soft sniffling that she was only pretending. He had really screwed up this time...


	10. Toxic Waste

The hike to the same clearing they had been using for their activities for the past week was awkwardly silent. Emily was still fuming and Morgan had no idea how to fix it, she refused to even look at him. The tension in the air was so strong that even Ally and Neil felt it. Upon reaching the clearing, Neil braced himself and briefed them their exercise.

"This game is called _Toxic Waste_. See the bucket inside that big circle over there? The bucket is filled with toxic waste and the circle is the radiation zone," he described animatedly.

"Your job is to transfer the toxic waste to the neutralization bucket without spilling any of it. If the waste is spilled entirely, you would have to start all over again," Ally explained, indicating the large bucket about thirty feet away. "Here's the catch: anyone who ventures into the radiation zone will suffer injury and possibly even death and spillage will create partial death and destruction. You can only use these ropes and the bungee cord loop to transfer the bucket over to the neutralizer."

"You have do it in twenty minutes or the toxic waste blows up and everyone dies. Which means you have to start all over again," Neil continued. "We'll give you five minutes to come up with a plan. Good luck!"

*******

Gathering together to discuss their plan of action, Rossi came up with the idea of attaching the ropes to the bungee loop, then guiding the bungee with the strings to sit around and grab the toxic waste bucket. Then with everyone pulling on their cord and with good coordination and care, the toxic waste bucket could be lifted, moved, and tipped into the empty neutralizing bucket.

It sounded like a fairly reasonable plan and with lots of communication, the plan would work effectively... But effective communication among the team was currently in short supply...

After fifteen minutes they had spilled the so-called waste twice and everyone was getting frustrated. JJ had been blindfold because she had broken the rules, her head having entered the circle, which only made the task even more difficult. Hotch sighed as he saw Emily struggling to shift her rope around the circle to stop the bucket from tipping. "Morgan, give Prentiss a hand."

As Morgan reached out to grab Emily's rope, she snapped, "I don't need his help." She pushed his hand away, causing him to lose his balance which in turn caused the bucket to topple over once again.

"Emily..." Reid groaned; they were so close to completing the task.

"It's not her fault, Reid," Morgan stood up for her.

"I said, I don't need your help," she glared at Morgan before storming off.

"Emily..." he called her, but was ignored. "Damn it!" He walked off in the opposite direction, leaving the rest of the team behind.

"What did I do?" Reid asked, confused at their over-the-top reactions to his little complaint.

Rossi patted him lightly on the shoulder, "It's not your fault, they have issues..."

"I'm gonna go talk to Em. You guys talk to Morgan," JJ instructed before running off after Emily.

Rossi looked at Hotch and said, "Ready to talk?"

Sighing, Hotch shook his head, "Let's go."

******

Morgan winced. Apparently, punching a tree isn't the best way to cool down.

"You're not stronger than a tree you know," Hotch said. Morgan ignored his comment and continued to stare at his shoes, rubbing his sore knuckles. "I saw what happened at the camp fire last night," he continued.

"It's nothing..."

"I am not going to fire either of you because you're in a relationship," he assured Morgan.

"We're not in a relationship," Morgan glanced at Hotch and sighed loudly, "I don't even know what we are..."

Rossi smiled lightly, "Talk to her..."

"How am I supposed to talk to her when she won't even give me the time of day?"

"She can't be mad at you forever."

"I don't know..." Morgan breathed. "You know, talking to my boss about my personal life is really weird."

"Don't worry, we feel weird too," Hotch assured him.

******

JJ found Emily sitting at the edge of the lake, angrily throwing pebbles into the water, causing ripples to appear on the glassy surface. "Hey," she sat down beside her. "We all saw what happened last night..."

Before Emily could speak, JJ's phone chimed loudly in her pocket and she smiled when she saw Garcia's name appear on the screen. "Good morning sunshine! How are you enjoying camp life?" her bright voice filtered through the phone.

"Hey Garcia, it's a little stormy here, if you know what I mean..." JJ replied.

"Uh-oh... what happened?" Garcia was concerned, she hated it when the team fought. Just look at where the last fight had landed them...

"Lovers' spat," JJ said softly.

"There is no lovers' spat, okay?" Emily glared at JJ.

"Okay fine, no lovers' spat. But I still need to know what happened," Garcia said.

"Fine," Emily relented. She told them everything that had happened since the _Jungle Survival_ exercise.

"You kissed?! Twice!" Garcia squealed.

"Not helping..." JJ reminded her.

Refocusing, she continued, "Right, so he was ready to beat up that guy that tried to hit on you?"

"It's his stupid alpha male instinct... " Emily claimed.

"No, I think he really likes you... I saw a bartender flirt with his date once and he didn't even flinch..." Garcia recalled, "He was ready to punch this guy just for talking to you."

"Yeah Em, he just anxious about you," JJ said. "Give him a chance and talk to him. Strauss sent us here for team building and this seems rather counter-productive. Unless you want the team to be reassigned, you guys need to work this out."

"Yeah sweetie, just hear him out. And then if you're still mad at him, you can always kick him where it hurts..." Garcia suggested.

They all laughed at Garcia's suggestion. "He's coming..." JJ turned her attention back to Emily. "Just promise me you'll give him a chance okay?" With that she left Morgan and Emily alone.

"Emily..." he said softly.

"What do you want?" She was still mad at him for thinking that the kisses didn't mean anything to her.

"Can we talk?" he asked, adding a quiet "Please?" as an afterthought. She nodded, but remained silent. "I'm sorry about last night... I shouldn't have been so impulsive. I wasn't thinking..." he said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Damn right you weren't," she muttered.

"I know," he sat down beside her, "I was scared okay?"

She scoffed, "What are you scared of?" In her eyes, Derek Morgan was fearless.

"I... I was scared of losing you, okay?" Morgan confessed. At first finding the words was hard for him, he had never left himself vulnerable to a girl before. "I mean, we kissed, but we never talked about, well, us. And I... I don't know how you feel about me."

Her heart softened at the depth of emotion in his confession. Maybe it was partially her fault that they had never discussed what was going on between them. "But it still doesn't give you the right to go into alpha male protector mode whenever I talk to another guy," she said softly.

"I know, I was stupid. I'm sorry."

Then Emily noticed the bruises on his knuckles, "What happened to your hand?"

"I got frustrated after you stormed off and I punched a tree."

"How dumb can you get?"

"Apparently dumb enough to make you mad."

Taking his hand in hers, she gently caressed the scrapes, "Does it hurt?"

"Just a little," he smiled softly.

"That will teach you something about punching a tree."

Intertwining his fingers with hers, he looked at her with his puppy dog look, "Forgive me?"

"You make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Never," he promised and leaned in to kiss her softly.

From the clearing, someone cleared their throat exaggeratedly. "We've got an imminent cataclysmic explosion waiting to be neutralized..."

Laughing, Morgan said, "If we don't save the world, I'll never get to have you all to myself..."

"Well, we'd better hurry up and neutralize that reaction then..."


	11. Life Raft

After having spent the day 'saving the world', they weren't anticipating being required to work for their meal. But once again, the counsellors had other ideas, which they discovered as they were once again separated into pairs. Once seated across from each other, Ally commanded them to extend their hands, which she promptly tied to the hands of their partner, informing them that they had to work together since the strings were only long enough for one person to eat at a time.

Easily having coordinated their movements, Emily looked over from where she and JJ were seated to where Morgan and Reid were obviously struggling with the activity. She giggled as Reid, in his excitement, jostled Morgan's hand, causing him to spill his spoonful of chili. He must have overheard her laughter because he turned to glare at her. She tried to pretend like she wasn't the one laughing by looking away.

Waiting until she was taking a sip of her water, he called to JJ, distracting her and causing her to jerk Emily's hand, sloshing the water out of her cup. She returned Morgan's glare as he laughed, obviously pleased with himself.

*****

The rest of the meal wasn't accomplished without several more spills. Morgan groaned as once again Reid caused him to spill; he was surprised that any had actually managed to get inside his mouth. "Reid!" he scolded, "Pay attention!"

"Sorry."

Morgan shook his head, "I sure hope we never get handcuffed together... I'd starve."

"Hey!" Reid said indignantly, "I'm not that bad!" He tugged at the string again as Morgan was taking a bite, this time intentionally.

What he hadn't planned on was knocking his elbow against Rossi, causing him to make Hotch spill his drink. "Reid!" came three annoyed voices.

"Oh my God! Hotch, I'm _so _sorry!"

Emily and JJ were laughing so hard they were in tears. "It's not funny!" Morgan protested.

"I'm pretty sure it is..." JJ said, slightly breathlessly.

"Let's see how you like it..." he said, using his spoon to fling chili her way.

It would have hit her if Hotch hadn't straightened up at that moment, moving himself into the line of fire. It was one of those moments that seem to move in slow motion, drawing out the horror. Everyone braced themselves for the impending disaster.

"Ooh... You are so gonna get it now..." Emily said, fighting back her laughter. She had to quickly duck out of the way as another spoonful of chili was sent her way.

******

The next morning they hiked the long road to the lake shore furthest from the camp. "You've been stranded on a desert island," Neil described, "There's no food and the closest land is too far away to swim. The only way off the island is to build a raft, large enough to transport all of you, using whatever material is at hand."

Ally gestured towards several fifty-five gallon barrels and a length of rope, "You can use these and whatever else you can find in the woods. Once you've built the raft, you'll launch it and row across to the other shore."

"Whoa," JJ interrupted, "We're actually expecting this thing to carry us across the water?"

"You'll have life jackets," Neil reassured.

JJ shook her head and muttered, "I sure hope we know what we're doing..."

*****

They had began by sketching a rough blue-print in the dirt before they went searching the woods for fallen logs. Looking over what they had managed to gather, they found there to be less than they had hoped, but they were going to have to make do. "So how are we gonna attach the barrels to the logs?" Reid asked.

"With the rope... duh," Morgan said jokingly.

As they lashed logs to other logs, logs to barrels, and barrels to other barrels, Reid somehow managed to get tangled in the rope. "Argh," he groaned in consternation, "This isn't working..."

As he attempted to disentangle himself Rossi laughed, "I know we said to be a part of the project, but don't you think this is taking it a little far..."

Hotch interrupted their laughter saying, "Would you stop teasing him and help him untie himself? We're gonna need those ropes."

*****

"I'm not so sure this is safe..." Reid said, looking warily at the raft which looked alarmingly unseaworthy.

"No guts, no glory," Morgan said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Let's get it in the water." They all lifted the raft at the corners, carrying it from the flat grassy field to the water's edge.

"Our boat doesn't have a name," Rossi pointed out.

Still not having any faith in the raft, Reid said, "We should just call it the _S.S. Soup Strainer_ because I'm pretty sure it's gonna start taking on water the minute we push away from the shore."

Morgan laughed, "We can't call it that! A boat's supposed to have a girl's name."

"We should call it _Erin_," JJ said jokingly. Hotch gave her a confused look. "As in Strauss..." JJ reminded.

They laughed and Morgan quipped, "I said it should have a girl's name, not the name of a she-devil."

"And I'm pretty sure in that case we'd want it to fail," Rossi added.

*****

The raft worked surprisingly well, maintaining structural integrity as they rowed it using flat pieces of wood and kicking their feet off the back end to propel it. That is, until they were about half-way across the lake...

Suddenly they noticed that the raft was sinking at one corner and, upon examining the barrel supporting that corner, they noticed a rather large hole by which water was rushing in. "Oh crap..." JJ said, "What are we going to do?"

"We'll have to unattach the barrel and hope that the raft is still buoyant enough to support us," Rossi said. "It'll be unstable, but there isn't really any other choice." Using his pocket knife, he severed the ropes holding the barrel to the logs.

Everyone shifted away from that corner and it seemed like the plan was working... Then a loud snap sounded as the rope holding the ends of the unsupported logs to the rest of the raft gave way. "I hate to say I told you so..." Reid said.

"Just keep paddling, kid," Morgan said, surveying the damage. "Should we just cut the other end of the logs?"

"The raft's small enough already..." Emily protested.

"It's a good thing I brought extra rope then..." Rossi said, carefully reattaching the logs.

Once again the plan worked for a few more feet of paddling until the rope snapped at both ends, the logs and one of the barrels floating away, causing the raft to jostle sharply. In the sudden moment of imbalance, Emily slipped off the raft into the lake.

"Man overboard!" JJ called as Morgan scrambled to pull Emily out of the water.

"I told you so..." Reid repeated.

"Okay, kid, we get it," Morgan said rolling his eyes.

*****

Once safely back on dry land, with half the raft they had started with, they noticed a chill wind had started to blow in, the promise of rain on the horizon. Emily was shivering violently so Morgan wrapped his jacket around her shoulders and pulled her close while they hiked back to the cabin. "I didn't enjoy that..." she grumbled moodily.

"Oh, that's just the unexpected swim talking," Morgan said, "Once we get into the warm cabin and get you into some dry clothes, you'll be all sunshine-y again."

"That depends what you mean by 'we'..." she whispered in his ear, an eyebrow raised suggestively.


	12. Guide Me

The usual bright blue skies and warm sunshine they had come to expect over the past week had been replaced by chill winds and dark clouds that overshadowed the sun, giving the day a sullen feel. If ever there had been a day to stay indoors, this was it, but apparently the inherent lack of sunshine was no excuse for not going outside.

"_Rain, rain, go away..."_ they sang half heartedly, hiking towards the clearing as the precipitation fell from the sky. Apparently the little moisture in the air wasn't stopping Ally and Neil from getting the team involved in the next exercise... _outdoors_.

"Technically, it's not rain, it's more of a drizzle," Reid said. "Drizzle is light precipitation consisting of liquid water drops smaller than those of rain, generally less than 0.5 mm in diameter. Drizzle is normally produced by low stratiform --"

"Kid," Morgan interrupted, "We don't need a meteorology lesson when we're wet, miserable, and trudging through the middle of nowhere, okay?" Clearly, he wasn't in his best mood.

"Yeah Spence, now is not a good time," JJ said softly.

"Sorry," he gave them an awkward smile.

"Alright," Neil said, surprisingly upbeat; the persistent drizzle had definitely dampened his clothes, but not his spirit. "Our next exercise is called _Sherpa Walk_."

"While flying over a remote part of the world, your plane suddenly crashed. Luckily no one was killed, but as you abandoned the wreckage there was an explosion, blinding everyone. Two local Sherpas saw the accident and can help guide you to safety... But they don't speak any known language, nor can they physically assist you in any way," Ally narrated.

"See that flag over there?" Neil asked, pointing to the bright red flag that stood out amongst the browns and greens of the forest. "That is your destination. You have to get over there, grab the flag, and come back here. You'll have to do it blindfolded and the Sherpas will guide you there without words or physical contact."

"Now, put on your blindfolds while we show the Sherpas the route," Ally said, waiting until everyone was blindfolded to pull Rossi and Emily away from the group and once again granting them sight.

******

They had been given a rope to hang onto, so no one went astray, but they were discovering that following directions without any actual directions was difficult, to say the least. True, there were no steep hills to climb or lakes to cross... But what the course did feature was slick terrain and lots of obstacles... Trekking through the forest in the rain at the best of times isn't necessarily a fun thing, but doing it without your sense of sight is a whole other ball game. The only way to safely reach their destination was to attempt to figure out the series of claps, whistles, and other non-verbal commands, straining to hear them over the noise of the storm.

Emily and Rossi thought the signals they had come up with were quite ingenious, a different noise for left, right, over, under, stop, and go, but it was rather frustrating when at least one person failed to understand the command immediately.

Clapping loudly, they tried to indicate a tree coming up on the left. Hotch, Morgan, and JJ understood, but Reid got confused and instead moved to avoid something on the right. Crashing into the tree, he groaned, "Oww!"

"No, Reid," Morgan reminded, "Whistling means right, clapping means left."

"This game has too many rules," Reid muttered.

*****

As they moved closer to their destination, having picked up the flag and started on the return journey, the winds began to pick up with the occasional far-off rumble of thunder shuddering through the steel sky. Anxious to end the task and return back to the cabin, JJ picked up her pace. Lacking a command to slow down, Emily tried to get her to stop, but was drowned out by the sudden gust of wind, the result of which ended up being JJ slipping on the slick undergrowth and tumbling to the ground. She winced and called loudly, "Time out!"

"JJ, are you alright?" Hotch asked, concerned.

"I think I sprained my ankle," she replied as she attempted to stand, failing miserably.

"Maybe you should stop," Rossi said.

"No," she stubbornly refused, despite the throbbing pain in her ankle, "I will finish what I started."

Hotch sighed, "Give me your hand." Placing her hand on his shoulder, he bent down slightly, "Get on my back, I'll piggyback you to the end."

"What? That's just going to make it more difficult for you."

"You want to finish this game, so do I. Let me help," he said.

She hesitated for a moment, but decided that this was the best way for them to finish the exercise quickly and return to the cabin. "Thanks," she whispered into his ear as he lifted her off the ground.

******

The hike back to the cabin was a lot shorter than JJ remembered... But perhaps it was because she was being carried back by Hotch. Despite the fact that her ankle was still throbbing, she didn't fail to notice how broad his shoulders were. Without thinking she rested her head on the curve of his neck and sighed happily. It had been a long time since she had had a shoulder to lean on... and that was probably the closest she could get to him. Hotch was a good unit chief and friend, but JJ wished there was something she could do to move past 'just friends'...

Hotch hitched a breath when he felt JJ's warm breath against his neck. He had been painstakingly aware of JJ for the longest time. And something in him had snapped when he heard her cry of pain as she tried to walk with an injured ankle. Carrying her back to the cabin was the least he could do for her. Suddenly he wished that the hike was longer...

Upon reaching the camp site, Hotch told the team, "I'm gonna take JJ to the first aid cabin."

*****

Setting her down, he carefully removed her shoe, all too aware of her hiss of pain. Softly he caressed the already bruised skin, hoping it would lessen the pain. "It's swelling up." Gently he held an icepack against the injured area with one hand, the other kept caressing her skin. "Does it hurt?" As soon as the sentence left his mouth, he wanted to kick himself O_f course it hurts! What a stupid question!_

"It's better now..." JJ smiled. Frankly, if Hotch were to take care of her every time she sprained her ankle, she wouldn't mind injuring herself every now and then.

Removing the ice, he grabbed a tensor bandage and began wrapping the bandage around her injured ankle. "You're certainly know what you're doing when it comes to first aid," JJ commented.

"Yeah, had lots of experience as a kid..."

Upon hearing that JJ wanted to curl up and die, they all knew what his father did to him when he was younger and the last thing he needed was to relive those moments. _You just can't keep your big mouth shut..._ She leaned forward, placing her hand on his, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have – " Her fingers tingled with the memory of his skin against hers.

"It's fine..." he said, trailing off.

"It's not, nobody should have to go through that..." she said softly, gently caressing his cheek to provide what comfort she could.

Without thinking he leaned over and gave her a soft, gentle kiss; it felt so right to be holding her in his arms and chills ran the length of his spine like an electric shock when their lips touched. He drew away and met her gaze, locking eyes momentarily before leaning back in for a deep, passionate, tingling kiss.

He pulled away, slightly out of breath, and tenderly nudged her nose with his. He felt her smiling against his mouth. She opened her eyes and found herself staring intensely into his eyes.

"You're good at that too..." she whispered.

Laughing, he replied, "I'm good at a lot of things..."

******

Thunder cracked across the sky like an invisible whip, its owner angry and fast in his movements. It followed so closely on the heels of the lightning they were almost simultaneous. The wind whipped through the air angrily, throwing forest debris about in its rage. Wind chimes clanged together wildly making a haunting tune. The scent of rain hung thickly in the humid air as dark clouds began to accumulate across every inch of the sky.

The clash of thunder meant that no one had been able to fall asleep, despite their exhaustion. Deciding that waiting for sleep to come was a lost cause, they gathered together in front of the small indoor fire, hoping that it would be enough to keep all of them warm.

"We should play _Monopoly_," Reid suggested, having found some board games in their cabin.

"Sure, why not?" they eventually agreed.

******

"I hate this game..." Reid grumbled as he rolled the dice.

"You're just saying that because you're losing," JJ smirked, "And that would be a hundred bucks for landing on my property."

"Your property doesn't even have hotels for me to stay in, I should get a discount."

"That's true, but your race car left skid marks on the floor, you have to pay for the damage."

Reluctantly, he handed the money over to JJ, "Your turn, Emily."

Emily rolled the dice and moved 6 places. She ended up on Community chest and drew a card; Reid hoped she'd be sent to one of his few remaining properties. He could use the income.

"Take a ride on the Reading Railroad..." Emily read, setting the card on the pile and smiling. "I pass 'GO' and collect 200 dollars." She moved her piece to the rail road space and Rossi handed her 200 dollars from the 'bank'.

"How did you enjoy the trip on my railroad, baby?" Morgan asked.

"The ride was alright," she told him, "But I'm not sure I liked the way the conductor was looking at me... I should get a discount..."

"Fair enough," Morgan conceded, "50 bucks."

"Okay," she handed the money over.

"That's not fair!" Reid protested, "You're only giving her a discount because she's your girlfriend."

"You heard her, Reid... the conductor gave her a funny look and she didn't like it. What am I supposed to do? You don't think I should charge her full price for the ride, do you?"

"You would have charged me full price."

"My conductor probably would have ignored you..."

The team laughed as Reid huffed, "Unfair..."

Morgan looked over at JJ and plead his case, "JJ, if my conductor was giving you a weird look that made you uncomfortable, should I give you a discount?"

"You should let me ride for free," JJ answered, "It's impolite to be staring at a woman in a manner that makes her uncomfortable."

Morgan looked over at Reid, "See?" Reid sighed, he loved playing _Monopoly_, but he hated it with this new set of rules JJ had come up with, although the others loved it. The better the story you made up, the better chance you had of getting out of your bill... It wasn't his fault that he couldn't think outside the box on such short notice... but he was sure that the next morning he would be filled with witty excuses.

******

"We must be _really _bored," Hotch remarked as he rolled his dice; they had been playing for several hours by that point.

"Yes!" Reid squealed excitedly when Hotch landed on his electric company. "You have to roll to see how much you owe me!"

"I do believe I don't owe you anything," Hotch replied and handed the dice to Rossi.

"Why not? You landed on my property..."

"Because someone crashed into one of the power poles and cut the power to my house. Therefore, I have not been able to make proper use of my utilities and should not be required to pay my bill."

"What?"

"Sounds right to me, Spence..." JJ said. "If there's no power coming to his house, why should he pay the bill?"

"Hey..."

"What kind of power company are you running, kid?" Morgan asked. "You'll probably get a fine... maybe even jail time."

"But..."

Before Reid could say anything, Rossi sent the dice clattering across the board. "You need to build better power poles." He moved his piece five spaces forward, landing on his own property, "Home sweet home."

Reid sighed, no point in arguing with them. At least he would pass 'GO' this time, he could use the cash. Maybe enough to do something... if he could get the dice to fall into place for him. He rolled, and moved his piece, falling short of 'GO' and instead landing on community chest. This could be good... maybe he won a contest or something...

"Go to jail..." Everyone laughed as Reid moved his race car to the jail, mumbling, "I hate this game."


	13. The Storm of the Century

When they finally managed to fall asleep, it was in the midst of playing _Monopoly_, seated around the game board, fake currency still in hand, as the small fire petered out.

And it was that lack of warmth that eventually wrenched them from their sleep. The temperature in the cabin had dropped several degrees and they were all shivering. Sometime during the night the thunder and lightening had stopped, to be replaced by... snow.

Pulling on what scarce layers they had, they stepped out onto the porch and looked out across the ice-dusted landscape. In the blink of an eye, Reid dived into the snowbank like a school-child on a snow day. He began shaping a handful of snow into a ball and took a moment to consider who was going to be the target, eventually deciding on Morgan.

As he took aim, Morgan glared and threatened, "Kid, if you throw that snowball at me... So help me, I'll..."

Emily interrupted his threat, "Don't worry, he couldn't hit water from a boat..."

"Hey!" he exclaimed indignantly, now aiming to hit her. Before he could though, Morgan tackled him to the ground, the snowball's path jarred into a completely different direction.

As Hotch wiped the snow off his head, he laughed, "You've really got it in for me..."

"It was Morgan's fault!" Reid defended himself.

"You started it!" Morgan shot back.

"You're gonna get it now..." Emily teased in a sing-song voice, until JJ hit her with a snowball. "What was that for?"

"Just for fun," JJ laughed, giving her a look that dared her to do something about it.

*****

In the midst of their snowball fight, Neil came sprinting towards them, calling loudly, "You need to get back inside the cabin!" They turned to him, confused, as he elaborated, "There's a huge snowstorm coming in! The National Weather Service is saying it could rival the Storm of the Century!"

Instantly, he had their full attention, all playfulness vanished as quickly as the warm weather had. They quickly transitioned into crisis mode, insulating windows and doors, stock-piling food and water, tuning the transistor radio to pick up the emergency broadcast system, locating the emergency preparedness kit located in every cabin. "Do NOT leave the cabin for any reason!" Neil instructed firmly. He handed a walkie-talkie to Hotch and told him, "In the event of an emergency, use this to communicate. We'll use it to send the command if we need to order an evacuation."

And, just as swiftly, he was gone again; they barricaded the door behind him to keep out the fury of the coming storm. For a moment, as the commotion slowly died down and they recovered from the initial shock of the sudden warning, they looked from one to another in stunned silence.

"Should we build up the fire again?" Reid asked.

"No," Hotch said firmly, "We have to save the wood for when we really need the warmth... We're going to need it..."

******

They had been expecting another day of team-building activities and, as such, they were at a loss for things to occupy their unexpected free time. As it was, they were tired of playing _Monopoly_ and were attempting to think of something to occupy their time. "Oh!" Reid said suddenly, "I know a game! It's called _Buzz, Clap_. We go around the circle, saying numbers in order, but anything with a five in it is replaced by a 'buzz' and anything ending in zero is replaced with a clap. If you say one of those numbers we have to start over."

Since they really had nothing better to do, they relented. The first few rounds, someone would forget to replace a number and they had to start over repeatedly, but then they got the hang of it, eventually surpassing one hundred. Just as they were approaching 150, they storm was beginning to bear down upon them. Distracted by the snow whipping past the window, JJ heard them counting, but didn't process it. "150," she said distantly.

Everyone groaned, they were doing so well... That pulled JJ from her reverie and she looked back sharply and realized what she had done. "Oh crap! I'm sorry..."

Reid, ever enthused, began again, "One."

Emily groaned, "I'm tired of this game..." She stood to look out the window at the quickly worsening storm. After a moment of silence, she turned to Reid and asked, "So, if this storm is on par with the Storm of the Century, what horrors are we expecting?"

Reid smiled, having been written a blank check, "Well, the Storm of the Century spanned most of North America, hitting as far North as Canada and as far South as the Gulf of Mexico, hitting at least 26 Eastern states. It encompassed everything from massive blizzards to tornadoes to hurricanes. About 300 people died as a direct result of the storm."

Emily grimaced, "Good to know..."

Suddenly, the radio spluttered to life, the announcer practically shouting, "Many cities have lost all power, heavy snowfall and strong gusting winds blowing out the power grids. Systems are likely to remain down for several days before any repairs can be made."

"I don't think I like this part of camping..." Reid said.

******

The temperature had dropped sharply in the span of several hours, leaving the cabin feeling like the inside of an icebox. They had held off starting a fire for as long as possible, but when they could see their breath on the air they had decided that was too cold. However, the small fire did little to disperse the effects of the chill growing outside. When Morgan had noticed Emily shivering violently, he pulled her close, wrapping them both up in his sleeping bag; JJ and Hotch quickly following suit.

Reid looked from one pair to the other and then over at the only other cabin occupant. Rossi looked back at him and, shaking his head, said, "Don't even think about it..."

"What?" Reid huffed indignantly, "Sharing body heat is the most efficient way to stay warm."

"It's weird..."

******

Garcia dialled Emily's cell phone, waited for a harrowing minute as static buzzed across the line until the automated voice informed her that the number could not be reached. Cursing under her breath, she hung up. This was the third time this had happened, having already yielded the same result from calls to both Morgan and JJ's cell phones.

She took a deep breath, assembling her thoughts, then dialled Reid's number. She shut her eyes tightly and crossed her fingers. Again the automated voice. She slammed the receiver back onto the base in a moment of frustration.

The worst snowstorm in almost two decades was quickly building over Quantico, having already engulfed many of the Eastern states further South. According to the Weather Channel which she had feeding directly to one of her screens, the blizzard had already hit the camp where the team was. In fact, reports said the area was exactly where the brunt of the storm would be centred; they had already lost power, all airports had been shut down, main thoroughfares into and out of the area were blocked off, people were being advised to stay indoors and not even attempt travel, and all phones lines were down, so there was no hope of reaching them via the camp's main line... The only hope, however slim she had of making sure they were okay was their cell phones... and that hope was quickly diminishing.

She dialled Rossi's number, heard the same message, and felt the same anxiety that had been threatening to overwhelm her first failed attempt at making contact. Forcibly calming herself, she shut her eyes and took several slow breaths... it didn't work. She slowly dialled Hotch's number, her last hope, putting her collective will for them to be alright into every push of the buttons.

As she waited, she chanted softly, "Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up!"


	14. Whiteout

Freezing rain and giant flakes of snow riding on a strong wind pelted the cabins sitting in the middle of the densely wooded area. The storm was rapidly worsening with no sign of stopping any time soon. Looking at the few pieces of firewood they had left, Hotch sighed. There isn't much of it left, he doubted it would be enough to last them for another few hours, let alone days... And the main cabin is too far away from their cabin, there's no way they can make it there.

As if reading his mind, Morgan said, "We need more firewood. This isn't going to be enough."

"Someone needs to go out and get more..." Rossi agreed. Peering out the window, he frowned; going outside is the last thing anyone should be doing.

"But it's a whiteout... the minute we take two steps out the door we won't be able to see a thing. How is anyone going to make their way back?" JJ asked.

"Technically, true whiteouts occur mostly in the Arctic and Antarctic during the spring, when snow is still deep on the ground and there is lots of daylight, surprisingly calm weather, and excellent visibility," Reid corrected her, "In a true whiteout neither shadows, nearby objects, landmarks, nor clouds are discernible. All sense of direction, depth perception, and even balance may be lost."

"Right, thanks," Emily said, rolling her eyes. "Actually there is a way to go out and still make it back here. I learnt it when I was in Russia."

"What is it?" Morgan asked.

"We're gonna need a really long piece of rope," Emily replied, "Tie one end of the rope to the waist of whoever is going out, someone holds the other end and waits on the porch."

Understanding the concept behind Emily's plan, JJ continued, "When we're done, we can follow the rope back here."

Rummaging through their emergency preparedness kit, Rossi found a piece of rope, "Is this long enough?"

"Either way, we'll have to try." Hotch frowned.

*****

"Remind me again, why you're the one going out into the woods?" Emily asked as she tied the rope to Morgan's belt loop.

"Because I grew up in Chicago, so I'm used to the cold. And you need to stay here and make hot chocolate for me when I get back," he gave her a small smile, "Besides, Rossi is going with me and Hotch will be waiting for us outside. We'll be fine."

"One more thing," Emily rummaged through her bag and pulled out a scarf. Morgan raised his brows as she wrapped the scarf around his neck. "Sixth sense..."

"Right."

"Hey, I have a neck too you know," Rossi smiled.

"Sorry Rossi, I only have one."

"You can use the pillowcases if you want..." JJ suggested.

"I don't think you should do that..." Reid advised. "Bedding is mostly made out of cotton which retains water; that would only serve to quickly conduct heat away from the body. If Rossi wears that around his neck it would increase his risk of becoming hypothermic."

"Thanks JJ, but no thanks."

"Are you ready?" Hotch asked, taking one end of the rope in his hand.

"Let's do it," Morgan said firmly.

The wicked wind whipped into the cabin the moment the door was cracked open. As soon as they stepped outside, their feet sank into the soft snow, quickly soaking their feet. "Be careful," Hotch instructed.

"Yeah, we'll be back soon," Morgan answered before moving off towards the nearby woods, an axe in hand.

In a second or two Morgan and Rossi disappeared into white landscape.

"How much firewood do you think we'll need?" Morgan asked upon reaching the treeline.

"I'm guessing enough for another week or two..." Rossi grimaced.

"Then we better get started," he sighed, looking around for a smaller tree to chop down.

******

Time passed agonizingly slow as Emily and JJ waited for them to return. Deciding that sitting around, waiting for time to pass, wasn't the solution, JJ turned her attention to Reid. "Reid, I need you to tell me everything that might happen to them..."

Scratching his head, Reid wondered if he should tell them the facts. Morgan had warned him that sometimes ignorance can be a blessing. Sensing that he was hesitating, Emily smiled softly, "Reid, we need to know what could happen to them so we can better take care of them when they return."

Taking a deep breath, Reid told them everything he knew about the dangers of exposure, from hypothermia to frostbite, from symptoms of such conditions to treatment. Seeing the looks on their faces when he informed them about the consequences of such illness, he wondered if he did the right thing. He didn't have much time to think though, they quickly got to their feet to prepare everything they would need, dry clothes, towels, blankets, hot water.

The cabin door flew open, slamming sharply against the wall, and they entered the cabin with a pile of wood under their arms. Their clothing plastered to their bodies, covered in snow, they were obviously soaked through to the bone. They were quickly pulled inside by Emily and JJ, while Reid scurried to shut and latch the door. Sitting Morgan down in front of the small fire, Emily felt her heart break a little when she heard his teeth chattering.

"Derek, I'm gonna help you change okay?"

"I'm tired," he spoke for the first time since entering the cabin.

"I know, sweetie. We'll get you into some dry clothes and you can get to bed okay?"

As JJ and Emily scrambled to help Hotch and Morgan change into some dry clothes, Reid stood there awkwardly, not knowing what he should do... It'd be weird to help Rossi change so he settled on bringing him some warm water.

"Thanks," he took the cup from Reid and greedily drank it down in one go.

*****

After getting Hotch, who was shivering fiercely, to bed, JJ picked up all their wet clothing, spreading it over chairs, tables, and bed frames so that it could eventually dry. She walked over to the cabin's one window, trying to peer out; there was nothing to be seen since full darkness had now settled in. Suddenly she felt exhausted, like all her energy had been drained from her body. More than anything she wanted to collapse on the bed and try to get some rest. Rossi, Hotch, and Morgan were already sleeping soundly, having been stretched to the limit by their expedition. Emily had already cuddled up in the sleeping bag with Morgan, burying her face against his chest. Reid was still sitting in front of the small fire, staring pensively into its depths.

"Hey," she smiled, sitting down beside him. "Penny for your thoughts."

"Huh?" He looked slightly confused by her statement.

Chuckling softly, she replied, "It means tell me what you're thinking about."

"Oh, right... I never really understood what that meant." He paused for a moment. "Morgan told me, sometimes ignorance is bliss," he began. "I don't know if I did the right thing when I told you what could happen to them... I mean, I told you they could die... Is this the kind of thing people want to hear?"

"Obviously it's not something anyone _wants _to hear..." she replied, "But you did the right thing. If you hadn't told us what could happen we wouldn't have been prepared. They could have been in more danger," she paused, allowing Reid some time to digest all of that, "You did the right thing."

A small smile appeared on Reid's tired face, "Thanks JJ."

Squeezing his hand, JJ smiled, "No, thank _you_. Now, go to sleep, genius."

"You're right, I need to sleep." Reid stifled a yawn, "Good night," he said as he climbed up to his bunk.


	15. Survival Instinct

As with all disasters, things were bound to get worse before they got better, something that seemed to be firmly rooted in all aspects of the storm. Each day it snowed harder, winds howled more, the temperature dropped by the hour, and the sun shone less. Each day they felt the scourge of cabin fever a little more; sure, they were used to spending all their time together in a rather enclosed space, but usually there was something more to occupy their minds than Reid's silly games.

"I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing fire," Reid said, starting a new round of the _Picnic Game_.

"Can I bring apples?" Rossi asked, guessing at what he could bring so he could figure out the pattern.

"Nope, you can't come," Reid said.

"Can _I_ bring apples?" JJ asked, her strategy was to tack onto other peoples guesses.

"Yep, you can come."

Rossi laughed; this same exchange had occurred several times in the game thus far. "You just don't want me to be there..." he joked.

"Can I bring ice cream?" Hotch asked. Reid nodded. "I know the pattern," he said smugly.

"Em, what are you bringing?" Reid asked her.

"Huh?" she asked, not having been paying attention to the game. She quickly turned to look at the others seated around the small fire and just as quickly focused again on the bunk where Morgan lay shivering violently, half-awake. "I think he's really sick..."

"I'm fine," Morgan said thickly, slurring his words.

"No, you're not," Emily insisted, "You went outside in the middle of a blizzard, you're hypothermic."

For a moment he looked at her, confusion written across his features. "No, I didn't... I never went outside." Again the words came out half-intelligible.

That worried all of them. "You don't remember going to get the firewood?" Rossi asked.

He shook his head, apparently unaware of the anxious looks passing between the other team members. "I'm tired," he said numbly.

"I know, baby," Emily said softly, tears glistening in her eyes, visibly frightened. "But you can't go to sleep, okay? You need to stay awake." She paused a moment, thinking of some way to keep him preoccupied and awake, "Why don't you tell Reid what you're bringing to the picnic?"

"What picnic?" Morgan asked, clearly confusion had already set in.

"When the weather clears up, we're going on a picnic," she lied, "What are you going to bring?"

As he considered that, she mentally checked off the other symptoms he was displaying, aside from slurred speech, amnesia, confusion, and violent shivering. His skin was alarmingly pale and icy to the touch. His lips and nail-beds were slowly turning blue and his pupils were dilated. "Squeeze my hand," she instructed him, testing for muscle weakness. His grip on her fingers tightened ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly. "As hard as you can," she reiterated.

"I am..." he said distantly. Muscle weakness, check.

Trying not to panic, she pressed her fingers against his carotid artery to take his pulse, he barely seemed to notice. She felt her own heart rate speed up with dismay upon feeling the weak, erratic beating, accompanying slow, unsteady breathing.

"I'm sleepy," he repeated. Drowsiness, double check.

"You can't go to sleep yet," she insisted, "Just stay awake a little bit longer." He nodded and she smiled at him half-heartedly. "I'll be right back," she told him, "I'm going to get you something warm to drink."

As she carefully poured the hot water from the kettle into a mug, she crouched down next to the others. "He's at least moderately hypothermic; his pulse is dangerously slow..."

"How do we warm him up without making things worse?" Hotch asked Reid.

"We have to rewarm him slowly so we don't cause rewarming shock or metabolic acidosis..." They decided not to ask for any elaboration on what those were. "Any sudden movements or rubbing the extremities can send cold blood back into the heart and make it worse. Actively warming him with external heat sources can cause shivering to decrease and slow the increase of core temperature. The most effective technique is sharing body heat. Keep giving him lukewarm sweet liquids and simple carbohydrates to encourage the natural metabolic pathways to produce heat. Even if we can rewarm him effectively, he's going to need medical attention."

Emily carefully helped him to drink the hot chocolate, despite his repeated protests that he didn't want it and just wanted to sleep. She forced him to put on any extra clothing that wasn't damp and piled spare blankets over him, something he was less than cooperative with, repeating that he was fine and they should leave him alone. She then got inside the sleeping bag with him, snuggling closely, which he didn't protest.

While Emily was busy playing Florence Nightingale, Hotch attempted to alert the counsellors that they needed medical help. "We have a camper with moderate hypothermia, he needs medical attention," he radioed.

There were several long moments where the only reply was static. The walkie-talkie then crackled into life as Neil's voice replied, "We're completely snowed in... The medical helicopter can't even get off the ground..."

Hotch was silent for a moment, forcibly keeping down his frustration. "How soon before it can airlift him out of here?"

"No telling how long..." came the answer, "Could be a week or more..."

"I don't know if he can wait that long..." he said quietly, not wanting to alarm the rest of the team. The last thing he heard from Neil was a series of garbled words, intermittent with static, as the weather played tricks with their only remaining form of communication with the outside world. Looking away from the window to the rest of the team, he silently hoped that what had started out as an innocent excursion to solidify their team wouldn't end up inadvertently breaking it apart.

"You _can't _go to sleep!" Emily scolded Morgan gently again. She softly kissed his cheek, sniffling quietly. Softly she continued, "You can't leave me..."

******

Before the storm could knock out the phone lines, Garcia spent every last moment dialling and redialling the team's cell phones, sure that if she called enough times, she would eventually hit a moment of calm and be able make contact. She just needed to know that they were okay, that they would all be returned to her good as new, in one defrosted piece.

When she heard actual ringing instead of the automated message as had been the case the last several hundred times, she almost choked on her coffee in her excitement. Then, just to be sure, she checked the number that she had dialled... and it was, in fact, JJ's number.

"Hello?" JJ sounded confused, or perhaps surprised when she answered.

"JJ! Oh thank God! I've been trying to get through to you guys for hours! When I heard that the storm had hit the area, I started calling right away, but by that time the phone lines were already down. But I had to make sure that you guys were all okay, so I've been calling your cell phones over and over trying to get through, but the storm must be interfering..."

Grimacing, JJ interrupted her rambling, "I don't know if I'd say we're all okay..."

"What do you mean?" Garcia asked suspiciously. "What happened?"

JJ side-stepped the question, "Can you tell us how long the storm is forecasted to last? And how long before flight authority will be allowing the rescue choppers to take off?"

"Why?" she demanded as she began researching their requests. "What..." Just then the call cut out, leaving both women glaring at their phones as the lost signal sound interrupted their conversation.


	16. The Sky Lightens and Darkens

They had been trapped in the cabin for eight whole days and there was still no word on when the storm would be stopping or when would they be able to get medical help. Emily peered out the little window and judged from the slivers of dark blue sky, stark against the previously overwhelming whiteness of the storm, that it was early morning. Visibility was much better now, but the temperature was still bitter. She had had her fair share of blizzards when she was in Russia, but none of it had ever rendered her so helpless before. She hadn't left Morgan's side for days, fussing over him, keeping him warm, and hoping it would be enough to keep him alive until they could get help.

Snuggling close to him, she could feel his breathing steadying and his heartbeat was getting stronger. She felt a lone tear running down her cheek and brushed it away quickly; though he was slowly recovering, the prospect of losing him to this stupid blizzard was too overwhelming.

"Please don't leave me..." she whispered.

******

Emily woke up a couple of hours later to the feeling that she was being watched. Opening her eyes she discovered that her senses were indeed accurate, Morgan was awake and was watching her intently. For a moment she wondered if she was dreaming, noting a definite increase in his alertness. Hesitantly, she put a hand on either side of his face, but said nothing. Then she felt his forehead and moved her hands down to feel his upper arms and then his chest.

She felt a weight lifted off her shoulders, "Thank God, you feel warmer now. How are you feeling?"

"I think I had a nightmare," he whispered, "I was outside in the blizzard and it was so cold. I think I know what it feels like to be frozen..."

She gave him a half-hearted smile, "You better not be frozen or I'll be really worried..." Placing a soft kiss on his forehead, she said, "I'll get you something to drink."

As she put the kettle on the fire to boil some more water for Morgan, the rest of team was slowly waking up from their slumber. "How's Morgan doing?" JJ whispered as she settled down beside Emily.

"He's warmer now and his breathing is steady, but he still a little confused." She sighed, turning to look at him she continued, "He's going to be fine, right?"

Seeing the tears glistening in her friend's eyes, JJ felt her heart break a little, "Don't worry, he's a strong and stubborn guy. He won't let a blizzard take him down."

"He is stubborn all right," she whispered, not taking her eyes off Morgan, "But I love him..."

"What?" JJ asked, turning her attention from the small fire to Emily.

"Oh, nothing..." she lied.

******

"I'm going on a picnic..." Reid started to say, bored.

Everyone groaned. "Not again," Hotch said, rolling his eyes.

"Camp songs?" Reid suggested.

Ducking out of the conversation before Reid began a round of _Princess Pat _or some other musical horror, Hotch turned to Emily, still busy hovering over Morgan. "How is he doing?" he asked.

"He's still tired."

"It's normal for a patient who is suffering from hypothermia to be feeling extremely exhausted." Reid said matter-of-factly.

"Anything else I can do for him?"

"Emily, you're doing everything you can," Rossi sighed, "Why don't you take a nap? You look almost as tired as Morgan."

"No, I'm fine," she insisted, "I need to take care of him."

"Emily, you can't take care of Morgan if you fall sick too," Hotch said.

"Okay," she relented.

Emily moved into the sleeping bag with Morgan, snuggling closely, and smiled when he opened his eyes. "Hey, are you feeling better?"

"Why do you keep asking me that? I'm not ill..." Morgan said softly.

"I just wanna make sure..." she replied. Pausing for a moment to think of something to keep him preoccupied, "What's the first thing you want to do when you get home?"

He looked at her for a moment, wondering why it was so important to her that he stayed awake. But he figured that if it was important to her, it's important to him, even if all he wanted to do was sleep. "I'm gonna take a long nap, maybe pizza and a movie.... enjoy urban society again..."

"What movie?"

As Emily busied herself fussing over Morgan, Hotch made another attempt to contact the counsellors. "We have a camper who is suffering from moderate hypothermia, how soon can we get medical help?"

There was several moments of silence before the walkie-talkie crackled to life as Ally replied, "It's stopped snowing, but we don't know when the authorities will allow the chopper to take off... maybe a few more days..."

Looking out the window, there was actual sunshine for the first time in days... Hotch hoped it was a sign that things were making a turn for the better.

******

Rossi's stomach growled loudly, causing everyone to laugh. "I'm starving," he groaned, "Rationing really takes its toll..."

That's when everyone else took notice of just how hungry they were. "Why don't I make dinner?" JJ said, sifting through the remaining rations, "How does spaghetti-o's sound?"

"As long as it's not macaroni mush, it's fine with me..." Rossi replied, remembering the fun times the team spent together before the storm.

JJ smiled, "Reid, can you help me prepare dinner? I'll get some water for Morgan."

"Sure," he agreed readily, thoroughly enjoying taking part in cooking over a campfire.

JJ carefully helped Morgan drink the hot chocolate, but he remained stubborn and insisted that he didn't want any of it. When JJ threatened him saying that if he didn't drink it, she would have to wake Emily, who had fallen asleep for the first time in two days, reluctantly he agreed to take it. Hotch was busy communicating with the counsellors and Rossi was checking if he could get any signal from his phone since the storm had stopped, and Reid was stumped by this can of noodles. He couldn't find a can opener and decided that it would be okay to just heat the can of soup without opening it, so he put the can above the fire and waited for it to heat up.

JJ returned to the small fire with a smug smile on her face and an empty mug in her hands and was shocked to see the can intact above the fire. "Reid!" she cried, "What are you doing?"

"What?" he was equally startled, "I was making dinner..."

"Oh God!" Rossi said, as he looked up. "You can't put an unopened can on the fire..."

"Why not?" he asked innocently.

"Because it would explode!" Hotch said, trying to remove the heated can from the fire without burning his fingers, eventually knocking it off the grate with a stick.

"Sorry..." Reid said sheepishly.

"It's fine," Rossi sighed, "It's a sad day when you don't learn something..."

Just then, the walkie-talkie sounded, startling them all, as Neil's voice filtered through it, "Rescue helicopters are cleared to take off in the morning!" There was a palpable lifting of anxiety as they were finally able to relax for the first time in days.

Even Morgan seemed to improve with the good news, asking to stand up and stretch his legs. Emily helped him to stand, supporting him as he took a few unsteady steps. Each time he put weight on his left leg he let out a hiss, shutting his eyes tight as if to block out the pain. After only two or three steps he had to sit down. As he sank down to the floor, he let out a sharp cry of agony; he looked up at the others, eyes wide with alarm, "What's going on?" he asked through gritted teeth.


	17. Compartmentalization

The team shared a worried look as Morgan's face continued to contort in anguish. They all turned to Reid with a look that clearly asked, 'What's wrong with him now?'

Reid, for once, looked lost for what to do... after all, he wasn't a medical doctor... Rossi took over; figuring that his leg had just cramped severely from inactivity and dehydration, he told Morgan to stretch the muscle.

As he attempted to stretch it out, even the smallest movement caused unbearable agony again; he couldn't even wiggle his toes without crying out.

Now, they were all at a loss for their next move. Trying to narrow down possible ailments, Hotch quizzed him about the pain, "On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst pain of your life..."

"Ten," Morgan hissed without hesitation.

"What kind of pain is it?"

"I don't know... burning, pins and needles..." He seemed to be in too much pain to think properly.

"Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere... In the front, mostly, deep inside the muscle..." If the pain was affecting him this much, they knew that it must really be bad...

Just from appearance, it was clear that something was very wrong. His leg had swollen massively and the skin appeared taut and shiny. Palpation revealed the anterior leg to be hard and swollen and cold to the touch, despite the fact that the rest of his body had already warmed.

Emily was obviously worried, with good reason. "What do we do?" she asked the cabin at large.

"I don't know what's wrong..." Reid said, almost as if disappointed with the short-comings of his own knowledge.

"Paramedics will be here in the morning," Hotch reminded, "Until then, all we can do is ice it."

JJ grabbed a handful of snow from outside and wrapped it in a towel, then pressed it against his leg; even that small amount of pressure seemed to cause him pain. Emily, not usually one for nervous tics, chewed anxiously at her cuticle as she held tightly to Morgan's hand and reassured him that everything was going to be okay.

******

Now that the storm had started to let up, JJ was attempting to get through to Garcia, hoping that she would be able to shed some light on Morgan's dire condition. She was surprised when the line connected on only the second try.

Despite the awful weather, Garcia seemed as cheerful as ever. "Hola, how are my snow bunnies enjoying the world's worst twist of fate? Is the weather any better down there?"

"The snow's letting up, rescue choppers are coming in the morning," JJ answered quickly. "Garcia, I need you to search some symptoms and tell me what medical condition they're associated with."

"What's going on?" Garcia asked suspiciously.

"Morgan may have a condition that won't wait until morning for medical attention..." she said, trying not to to give too much cause for panic.

Immediately, Garcia went into business mode, "What are the symptoms?"

"Muscle pain, weakness, swelling, shiny skin, cold to the touch... all isolated solely to the lower leg." After a moment, Garcia inhaled sharply in either alarm or squeamishness. "What is it?" JJ asked. "Is it bad?"

"Compartment syndrome," she said simply, leaving the name hanging in the air momentarily. "The muscles swell, putting pressure on the fascia separating them into compartments... Caused by increased blood supply to the muscles, making them swell."

There was another moment of silence as that unsavory news permeated the air between them. "Thanks Garcia," JJ said. "Hopefully we'll see you soon."

"Take good care of him..." she replied, "I fully expect you all back in one piece."

JJ turned back to the others who were waiting to place a name to the face of the latest affliction cast down upon them. "Bad news, guys..."

******

Emily had spent the last several hours tending to Morgan, almost as if she didn't know what to do with herself, instead bundling all her nervous energy into caring for him. She tucked a blanket tighter around him to ward off the frigid air, worried that his recent brush with death had left him more susceptible to a second bout with hypothermia. She was constantly reassessing his symptoms, asking him if it was getting worse, looking for signs of limb paralysis, reassuring him that everything was going to be fine.

"It's not getting any better..." she related to the others, "If the blood vessels are compressed, he could develop gangrene in the muscle by the time the paramedics get here... We need to do something!"

"What are we going to do?" Hotch asked, "We don't exactly have state of the art medical equipment here..."

"It's called a fasciotomy..." Reid said, the wheels in his head visibly turning. "We'll need a knife, disinfectant, some sterile gauze, rubber gloves..."

*****

Of course, Emily was the one who had to break the news to Morgan, "We're going to have to make a large incision in the muscle sheath to relieve the pressure..." she told him, biting her lip anxiously. "The wound has to stay open until the swelling goes down, but the doctors can stitch it up when we get out of here." She squeezed his hand reassuringly. "But don't worry, this will fix it... Everything's gonna be okay..."

"You don't know that!" he snapped, pulling his hand from her grip.

Though startled by his sudden outburst, she didn't let it get to her. "It's okay to be nervous... Surgery is scary enough when it's not performed by amateurs with no experience, no proper equipment, and no anesthesia..."

"I'm not scared," he said, annoyance in his voice.

She rolled her eyes; taking it as having bruised his male ego, she left it alone. "Do you need anything? Some water, something to eat? I think I've got some advil left..."

"Stop hovering!" he lashed out, "I'm fine! Could you just leave me alone for five minutes!?"

She was silent for a moment, a look of shock and hurt on her face. Tears built up in her eyes, blurring her vision. "Yeah... sure..." With one last wavering look at him, she turned and walked numbly out the door into the arctic night, leaving the rest of the team stunned.

JJ glared at Morgan and snapped, "That was stupid! I certainly hope you know what you're doing..." She and Rossi pulled on their rubber gloves while Hotch disinfected the knife and Reid drew a magic marker line where the incision was to be made. JJ gripped his knee a little tighter than was altogether necessary and she said sharply, "Because she deserves better than that..."

Morgan screwed up his face in anticipation of the pain as Reid got ready to cut into his leg. "I know..." he said through gritted teeth, "It's just..." He paused as if afraid to utter the rest of the sentence. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to finish the thought, but it was interrupted by a cry of agony as Reid slit the muscle sheath with the knife.


	18. Out of the Woods

Emily didn't even look up when she heard the door of the cabin open and close, having known that sooner or later someone was going to come after her. The wet snow picked up by the wind had plastered her ponytail against her neck while the biting gusts blew the few tendrils that had escaped the elastic across her face. Tears glistened on her cheeks, frozen on her pale skin.

Rossi crossed the porch to where she was seated on the railing, staring off into the distance. He followed her gaze and for several minutes said nothing. Eventually breaking the silence, he said nonchalantly, "When the weather isn't trying to kill us, it's actually kinda pretty..."

She made a small noise that might have been a laugh. Sniffling softly, she asked bitterly, "How's Morgan?"

Rossi could see through it, he knew the bitterness was an act and she was just trying to mask the fact that Morgan's words had cut her so deeply. "He's in there crying like a little girl..."

She looked up sharply. "Really?" there as a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

"Not really..." he said, chuckling softly. Her face fell a little. "But he is in a lot of pain."

"Good..." she muttered under her breath.

"And he's stewing in his own stupidity and regret..." He was silent again, waiting for her to open up.

"You know, this is what I get for thinking that he could change!" she burst out eventually. "He'd much rather keep everything locked inside than let someone in... I try to be there for him when things get hard and instead of looking weak he builds up the walls again to keep me out... It's my fault really, for thinking that I mattered enough to him to put aside his stupid male pride..."

"You're right..." Rossi said when her rant died down.

"What?" she asked, slightly startled. As she turned to look at him, he could see the fresh batch of tears sparkling in her eyes.

"He didn't want to look weak," he explained, "He didn't want you to see him in pain, knowing that you'd suffer too..." At that the tears had escaped and were once again trailing down her cheeks, freezing upon contact with the frosty air.

"Thanks," she whispered, smudging away the tears with the heel of her hand before heading back inside.

Rossi took one last look at the wintery landscape and smiled as the sun crested the frosted tree line, pale purples and oranges splashing across the lightening sky like brushed watercolours. The team had certainly gotten the needed lessons out of this trip, perhaps not through the intended methods, but they were closer none the less.

******

The early morning sun peeked through the frost-tinted window, lighting the previously dark room. Emily shifted her tired eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the harsh light. She laid on the top bunk, staring at the ceiling. The bed was cold and empty without him. After spending days snuggling close to Morgan, she had grown accustomed to his arms around her and his body heat warming her up. Sighing, she climbed down from the bunk and began to boil some water. She turned to look at Morgan who was sleeping fitfully. He was drenched in a cold sweat and obviously in a lot of pain. It broke her heart to see him suffering and, for a moment, she forgot about their fight last night and she tenderly mopped his forehead with a cloth, whispering soothing words to him.

Morgan's eyes fluttered open, "Emily..."

"Leaving you alone now..." she threw her hands up in the air and walked out of the cabin.

Morgan groaned in frustration. JJ was right, Emily deserved better. "Regretting it now?" JJ asked sarcastically.

"Don't rub salt in my wound now Jayje," he said.

"Fine," she sighed, "Here, drink this."

"Thanks," he said, finishing the mug of hot chocolate. "Jayje," he said softly, "What should I do now?"

"About yourself? You need to rest. About Emily? You need to apologize," she replied sharply. "How could you do that to someone who loves you?"

He felt his insides grind to a halt. "She loves me?"

"Why else would she be so worried about you?"

"That doesn't prove anything. You guys are worried about me too..."

"We weren't the ones who stayed up day and night waiting on you, who barely slept or ate, who spent every last second worrying that you weren't going to be okay, for days on end... And I heard her say it... but she thought I didn't hear anything." She gave him a pointed glare. "I'll go get her." JJ re-entered the cabin with Emily, who had obviously been crying again. Sitting her down beside Morgan, JJ mouthed, "Be nice!" to him.

"You wanna snap at me for hovering over you again?" Tears sparkled in her eyes again.

Before Morgan could reply, the walkie-talkie crackled to life when Neil's voice filtered through it, "The rescue choppers should be here any minute. Get him ready and take him outside as soon as it arrives! The chopper only has a limited supply of fuel, so it can't wait for more than an hour." Emily let out a sigh of relief, despite still being mad at Morgan.

"He can't walk... How are we going to get him to the landing-pad?" Reid asked.

"We could carry him out..." Rossi suggested.

"I don't think so. He's heavy and we might aggravate his wounds if we aren't careful," Reid said.

"We have to build a make-shift stretcher," Hotch replied.

"With what?" JJ asked incredulously, looking around their tiny cabin. Then she was hit with a burst of genius. "I know! Remember that raft building exercise? We use some of the firewood that hasn't been chopped and tie it together. Hopefully, it'll be strong enough and we can use that as a sled to pull him out."

As they lashed the unused logs together with rope, Rossi noted, "I certainly hope this works better than our raft did..."

*****

Emily and Hotch were helping Morgan onto the make-shift sled while the others prepared to drag the sled the several hundred yards to the field where the helicopter would be landing. "Emily, can we talk later?" Morgan asked quietly, wincing in pain as he tried to move.

"We need to get you to a hospital," she brushed him off. All she wanted to do now was to send him to the hospital where he could get help.

"If you don't promise me that we'll talk later, I'm not going anywhere," he said stubbornly.

"Fine, I promise you," she sighed, "Can you get on this..." she paused, searching for the right words to describe the raft they had built, "...thing now?"

*****

After sending Morgan off, everyone felt a weight lifted off their shoulders, especially Emily. "He's going to be fine," Hotch said as Emily continued to stare out of the window, watching the helicopter disappear into the sky.

"Yeah," she said distantly without taking her gaze from the sky. After another minute, she climbed into the sleeping bag that Morgan had been using and lay there silently praying that they had come to the end of their stretch of bad luck. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed him a lot. Sighing heavily, she inhaled his scent, gaining a little of the comfort that she needed.

******

Morgan lay in bed in the standard issue hospital gown, the slow beep of the heart monitor in the background. He had just gotten out of surgery, apparently they had stitched up his leg.

It was all too quiet until the door burst open. "Oh my gosh!" Garcia squealed, "I'm so happy that you're okay! You are okay right? I was so worried when they told me you were in trouble..."

"Garcia! Baby girl! I'm fine now," he smiled, happy to see a familiar face after a day alone in the hospital, though the one he really wanted to see was Emily.

"You're sure? Like absolutely and totally fine?" she asked.

"Yeah, my leg still hurts a little, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"Okay, that's good." She then punched his shoulder, "Jerk!"

"Hey!" he cried, "What was that for?"

"JJ told me everything that happened," she glared at him. "Anyway, they just left camp and they are on their way to see you."

"Including Emily?" he asked hopefully.

She nodded, "Yep, she didn't want to go home. Wanted to make sure you're alright..."

"I need to do something for her..."

"Hmm, let's see. There are flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep..." Garcia suggested. "But frankly, all you should be doing now is resting and getting better so she doesn't have to be worried. And while doing that, you can apologize."

"You're right..."

******

"Hey, what are you doing?" Emily asked as she entered Morgan's room. He was stretching over to the side table.

"I wanted some water," he smiled when he saw her.

"I'll get it for you." She sat down beside him on the bed and passed him the cup of water.

"Thanks," he paused, "For everything."

"What everything?"

"I remembered everything that happened back at camp. You took care of me for days. Thank you."

"I thought you didn't like me fussing over you?"

He looked down at his hands for a moment before looking at Emily again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I'm really sorry."

Emily was silent for several moments. "Derek," she sighed, "I want to be there for you when you need me, but you're just pushing me away when things get hard..."

"I know, you don't deserve to be treated that way. I'm sorry. Really, really sorry," he repeated. "Can you fuss over me again? Please?"

He was giving her his puppy dog look that made her go weak in the knees and, as much as she wanted to stay mad, she knew she couldn't resist that. Emily tried to hide her smile, but failed miserably. "Fine, but if that happens again, I'm not going to take care of you anymore."

"Deal," he promised and leaned in to kiss her.

*****

"Why are we standing outside?" Reid asked, "I thought we were visiting Morgan."

"We are," Rossi replied, "Just not now. Emily and Morgan need some privacy to work things out."

Peeking through the small window of the door, Garcia and JJ grinned, "I think they're doing just fine."

"Okay, ladies, let's not be snoopy," Hotch said, pulling them away from the door. "Let's go get some coffee."

As they made their way to the cafeteria, Garcia spotted JJ and Hotch holding hands and started squealing. "You guys are together? Oh, this is too good." She turned her attention to Reid and Rossi, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We... Erm..." Reid stuttered.

Without waiting for a real answer, she turned to JJ and, grinning, demanded, "Tell me everything!"

JJ groaned inwardly. _This is going to be a long day..._ She glared at the others when they snickered as Garcia bombarded her with questions.


	19. Epilogue

Unfortunately this is the last chapter... It's set about a year from the end of the last chapter. It's been a lot of fun to write this story and we're really sad that it's over. We hope that you all enjoyed it just as much and we'd like to thank everyone who followed so loyally and everyone who took the time to review.

*****

_Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is a progress. Working together is a success._

_- Henry Ford_

*****

"_Sometimes I think of the laundry, but something keeps telling me NO, NO, NOT YET!"_

JJ laughed, "Reid and Jack must be back with the firewood."

"If Jack starts singing that song when he's supposed to be doing laundry, Reid will never hear the end of it..." Hotch smiled.

"I think it's cute," Emily said, smiling.

"Yeah... because he doesn't have to go home with you," Hotch said, rolling his eyes.

"On the bright side, it'll probably annoy Hailey to no end," Rossi quipped.

Jack sprinted up to JJ and Hotch, slightly out of breath. "Can I teach Henry how to sing _Black Socks_?"

"No!" they said in unison.

For a moment he looked crestfallen, until Reid asked brightly, "Who wants s'mores?"

"What's a s'more?" Jack asked enthusiastically.

"Oh no, now we'll have two hyperactive kids bouncing off the walls..." Morgan laughed lightly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reid retorted, spearing a marshmallow onto a stick for Jack to roast.

"Oh, nothing..."

"Marshmallows and chocolate?" Jack asked, eyes wide as if in disbelief, "This is the bestest food EVER! I love camping!" Jack clapped, Henry mimicking him. "No vegetables! And I get chocolate and marshmallows! Dad, can we go camping everyday?"

Everyone laughed, wondering how Hotch was going to get out of this one. "Sorry, buddy," he said, "I don't think the animals would like that very much... especially since we'd stink worse than them if we never showered... And besides, what about your mom?"

Jack looked about conspiratorily, then whispered, "Shh... We'll keep it a secret..."

"Sweetie, I think your mom would notice that you're missing..." JJ smiled.

"Oh... Right..." Jack paused, considering. "Can we go camping _sometimes_?"

"Of course!"

"And have s'mores?"

Shaking his head, Hotch glared, "Reid, what have you done..."

"What?" Reid asked innocently, "I was just making s'mores..."

"Speaking of which," Emily smiled, rubbing her swollen belly tenderly, "I think the baby would really like a s'more..."

Immediately Jack piped up, "I'll make one for you!" Those nearest had to duck out of the way as he brandished his flaming marshmallow.

"Jack! Be careful!" Hotch scolded. Jack's eyes went wide with alarm and he started blowing on the marshmallow to put out the flames.

"Why do I get the feeling we've been here before?" Rossi said, laughing.

"Hey!" Reid cried, "I was new at that the other time..."

"We didn't say it was you, kid..." Morgan teased.

"No, you just implied it..."

"Okay, you two," Hotch stepped in, "Let's settle this like adults..."

"I'm not playing football again!" Reid piped up, "I think I still have bruises from last time..."

"Then let's play _Monopoly_, JJ style," Garcia suggested, "I haven't played that for a long time."

"You guys just want me to lose..."

"We don't _want _you to lose, it's just an added bonus," Morgan joked.

"Derek!" Emily scolded, "Leave the poor kid alone." Reid laughed and stuck out his tongue at Morgan. "I saw that, Reid," she added, "Don't make me ground you..."

JJ laughed, "See, she's a natural mom."

"I need all the practice I can get before the baby comes..."

"Since we're on the subject," Garcia said, "You haven't told us if it's a boy or a girl..."

"I told you," Emily said slightly exasperatedly, "We don't want to know."

"It's a girl," Morgan said definitively, lovingly rubbing her belly.

"You don't know that..." Emily said, smiling none the less.

"I can tell..." he smiled, "And she'll be every bit as beautiful as her mother." Emily blushed and leaned in for a kiss.

"Gross!" Jack said, making gagging noises, causing everyone else to laugh.

"Anyway, have you thought of names? You know, Penelope is a great name for a girl..." Garcia winked.

"Baby girl, you just wanna have someone named after you..."

"What's wrong with naming a baby after me? I'm awesome, you know..."

Now, that's just narcissism," Rossi quipped.

"You know," JJ noted, "If it really is a girl, you're going to have to come up with a different nickname for Garcia," she told Morgan.

Jack was starting to get bored. "What else do we do when we're camping?" he piped up.

"We still have to wash dishes," Hotch said.

Jack groaned, "That's not fun!" He paused for a moment, then his eyes brightened. "Can we sing _Black Socks_?"

They all glared at Reid. "What?" he asked defensively.

"Why don't we go swimming?" Morgan suggested, hoping to distract him from the possibility of more camp songs.

"No!" Reid protested, "The water is too cold and it's almost dark!" But his protests were lost to Jack's cheering.

*****

Emily sat on the edge of the lake, struggling to keep hold of Henry to stop him from wading out into the water to reach his mother. She attempted to coax Reid to join the others in the water.

"I'm not going in," he said stubbornly, "What about waiting half an hour after eating?"

"You had like three s'mores..." Emily said, rolling her eyes, "I'm sure you'll be fine." Reid made a noise that clearly expressed his disbelief in that statement. "Besides, I think you'll find you don't have a choice in the matter..."

"What?" Reid looked up sharply, just in time to see Morgan lift him into an unceremonious fireman's carry before dropping him into the water.

******

"Hey," Emily smiled as Morgan crawled into the tent. "Is Reid still mad at you?"

"Nah, he's happily roasting s'mores with Jack." He kissed her lightly.

Snuggling close, Emily sighed contently. "Life's weird, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, a year ago we were just friends and now I'm having your baby..." He smiled brightly and rested a hand over her belly. "And JJ and Hotch are getting married," she added.

Morgan chuckled, "Who said we wouldn't get anything out of team-building camp?"

*****

_No one can whistle a symphony... It takes an orchestra to play it._

_- H.E. Luccock_


End file.
